In the Wake
by BrokenNarsil16
Summary: Post Cell. Gohan and Vegeta find themselves stranded on an alien planet, seemingly unable to get home. When a strange brotherhood of powerufl soul-eaters is discovered, the heroes find thimselves in more trouble than they know. NOT VegetaxGohan!
1. Chapter 1

In the Wake -- Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ.

"Damn you Kakarott. What have you left for me here? A child who has surpassed my strength, a world at peace, and the absence of my greatest rival. You just had to be the hero, selflessly sacrificing yourself for this planet. And here I am left with emptiness, bereft of my chance to beat you. You have been there at every turn, mocking me. But it wasn't enough that you surpass me, your son had to continue on in your place.

I have no reason to fight anymore. You have stolen the very meaning of my life. I will never forgive you."

The Prince of Saiyans sat alone on a hill, overlooking West City. His mind was turmoil, depression setting in cold and harsh. Thoughts of the planet's last great battle occupied his head constantly, a bitter companion to his emptiness.

Five months had passed since the defeat of Cell. Five months Vegeta had wandered aimlessly, angry and lost. Today was no different.

Slowly he stood and took flight, making his way back home. Capsule Corp. was hardly a refuge. Bulma and her parents were more cheerful than ever since Cell had been defeated and the world returned to peace. Happiness was not what Vegeta sought. He wanted revenge, wanted mayhem. He wanted the world to reflect his own mind, which was a tempest of bitterness and pain.

But he had been away for many weeks now, and the small shred of compassion left within him knew that Bulma would be worried about his welfare. So he would return with his misery and suffer at home.

***

"Gohan! Lunch is ready!" Chi-Chi called throughout the house for her son. He was doing his school work, as he had been every day since his return from fighting Cell.

Chi-Chi was pregnant. Soon after Goku's death, she had realized that he had left her with-child. At five months along, she was showing fairly well. She had been inconsolable for the first few weeks after learning of her baby. She was so upset that Goku had left this child with her and then died. But now she cherished the baby more than anything, clinging to it as a last piece of her beloved husband.

"Gohan! I swear, that boy had better not have left again." Ladle in-hand, she marched her way to Gohan's room, preparing herself for the worst. Sure enough, upon opening the door, she saw an empty desk and an open window.

***

"Man I'm so sick of schoolwork!" Gohan thought to himself as he flew. The young Super Saiyan was making his way towards Kami's Lookout to kill some time with his friend, Dende.

"All mom ever wants me to do is study. It's like a prison or something. I don't even get to go outside and stretch my legs for more than twenty minutes without her yelling at me to come back in and work! I hate to keep leaving like this, but I've got to have some down time."

Gohan too had gone through some changes since he defeated Cell. Top of the list was the fact that he was beginning his adolescent transformations. Despite his half-Saiyan blood, fate would not spare him from the rigors of becoming a man. It was all there; changing voice, hormonal flux, even some minor skin problems. His temperamental swings were partly to blame for his tendency to leave home against his mother's wishes. He would always return and take his punishment though, being too well-mannered to completely rebel against her.

But for now he was free for a while, soaring high and low, enjoying the feeling of the cool air on his skin. It was about an hour's flight from his house to the Lookout, depending on how fast he wanted to go. He was in no real rush though, simply finding comfort in the freedom presented from being out from under his mountains of paperwork.

Gohan hadn't once transformed into a Super Saiyan since his battle with Cell. It wasn't that he made a conscious decision to stop training, but his mother simply forbid it; unless he could squeeze time in after study. And that was all but impossible.

He thought briefly about the few days before that battle, when he and his father had learned to live always in the powered-up state. It was handy for that fight, but the constant strain of trying to control his strength was such a pain. It had been an easy choice not to keep up with that kind of training.

He worried from time to time about keeping up with his practice. If another bad guy were to appear, would he be able to defeat him? He was now the strongest person in the world, but if he let his training go, that title could quickly be snatched. But Gohan held no desire to be the most powerful, and he figured Vegeta would continue training as hard as ever, and be able to keep the peace if need be.

He had no idea of Vegeta's real condition though.

***

"Well you know, Cell wasn't all that tough. He was full of fancy tricks, just like those other guys, but when he saw that I meant business, he realized his tricks wouldn't work on The Champ! Yeah, I gave him a One-Two, and he went out like a light. I almost felt bad for beatin' him so hard, but that's just part of the job description when you're the Martial-Arts Champion of the World!"

The television in Capsule Corp. displayed another of the countless interviews with the legendary 'Man-Who-Defeated-Cell'; Mr. Satan. Vegeta stared at it in a daze, only half-watching the program. Like everything else nowadays, his mind was split between what was going on in the real world and what his despondent state was throwing at him.

He would eat and sleep and maintain the bare minimum to keep himself alive, but beyond that he was a zombie. Bulma had fretted over him for a few weeks, but eventually resigned from the seemingly lost cause. She still hoped that he would snap out of it though. She told herself it was just a phase, a sort of post-traumatic thing.

Vegeta could see no light though for himself. Each day he managed to sink deeper into the despair, and he was too apathetic at this point to even care.

But as he sat on the couch absently staring at the television, something started to pinch inside of him. It was almost indecipherable at first, but it continued to gnaw ever so slightly. Soon he began to notice it, and with the notice came the feeble quest to comprehend this intrusive emotion.

It was a strange sensation, yet so familiar to him that he felt he should know exactly what to make of it. Slowly, it began to eat through the fog in his mind, sharpening his focus on reality. The room around him came into view, although it had ever been in plain sight. He could see the floor, the walls, the furniture, and television.

Upon noticing it, he began to watch the TV. The interview with Mr. Satan was progressing.

"So, Mr. Satan, what can you tell us of those other people who fought Cell before you?" The interviewer asked.

"Well they were a bunch of amateurs of course. I mean, they had a little talent, but most of it was tricks, the same as Cell. While they were having a magic competition, I was the only real fighter there!"

"Of course. But what about the young boy that was fighting Cell when the broadcast was interrupted? He seemed to have some pretty good moves."

"Yeah, he was okay for a kid. But it didn't take Cell long to beat him down. After that he saw me standing there, and begged me to take over for him. That's when I stepped in and introduced Cell to my fists!"

"Gohan beat Cell." Vegeta heard himself saying aloud, "It was not you. It was a Saiyan who defeated Cell."

All at once, it became clear to him. In a violent rush of realization, Vegeta saw clearly what had been gnawing at him. Pride, pure and mighty welled within him so vehemently that it was all but radiating from him visibly.

All this time he had forsaken his Saiyan pride. With the loss of Kakarott, and his giving up fighting, he had given up his honor. That was the hole that festered in his soul; the wound that wouldn't heal. He was nothing without his honor, it was all that made him who he was.

And it was speaking to him now loud and clear. He may not have beaten Cell himself, he may have been bested by Kakarott and his son, and he may have lost his only chance to prove himself against Kakarott, but one thing rang true within his being. It was beyond the shadow of a doubt a Saiyan who had killed Cell.

"It was a Saiyan!" Vegeta yelled so loud that the very foundation of Capsule Corp. shook.

As if a bolt of lightning, he shot out into the sky, still yelling. He flew high into the air, his anger boiling within, giving fuel to a fire that had been dimmed for so long. It felt wondrous to have something to fight for once again, however small.

And fight he would, for the honor of his Saiyan race. The battle would not be difficult, but it would be the most satisfying thing to happen to him in a long time. He was going to set the record straight. He was going to kill Hercule Satan.

***

"So Gohan, what have you been up to lately?" Dende asked, as the two of them sat on the floor of the Lookout.

"Schoolwork and more schoolwork. I swear I'm so tired of sitting at that desk and pushing that pencil." Gohan shook his head with irritation, the thoughts of his dreary days a major downer.

"I'm sorry. I wish I could help but I don't know how." Dende looked at the ground, at a loss.

"Don't sweat it, Dende. Just having you to come visit is a real help. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have you to talk to. But what about you? How is life as the Guardian treating you?"

"Well it's not so bad. Mr. Popo keeps me company, and Piccollo. I don't really do anything much, just keep watch over the Earth and make sure it stays as chaotic and corrupt as usual."

The two shared a laugh at Dende's joke before falling into silence. Gohan thought about how nice it was to just relax for once, away from the responsibility of his studies. Dende was starting to get a little taller, he noticed. Briefly he wondered if Namekians came into adulthood just as humans, and if they did was it around the same time? It seemed to be the case.

"So, where is Piccollo? I haven't seen him." Gohan asked, noticing the absence of his other Namekian friend.

"Oh, he went down to Earth to train for a few days. He gets restless up here sometimes. The Kami in him is fine with it, but the Piccollo part wants to move around."

"Yeah, I can relate." Gohan said, standing up. He walked over to the edge of the Lookout and stared down into the sky. The Earth always looked so majestic from that view. He thought to himself how he would never tire of seeing it that way.

The afternoon was wearing on, it having been nearly three hours since Gohan left home. He thought about his mother for a moment, feeling a stab of guilt for leaving her alone for so long. But it was just so peaceful here, he couldn't bring himself to leave just yet.

Dende joined him at the edge, and looked down with him, "The Earth really is a beautiful planet."

"Yeah, it sure is." Gohan said. He turned and started to say something else, but stopped short when he saw the look on Dende's face.

The young Namek wore a look of startled fear that gave Gohan a fright, "Dende? What's the matter?"

"Vegeta. Don't do it." Dende was focused on the Earth, obviously seeing something transpire that was beyond Gohan's sight. But before any explanation could be given, the shockwave hit.

It knocked the balance out of Gohan and Dende both, and sent a gust of wind blasting through the Lookout. Gohan could feel it now, Vegeta's energy signature. He had blasted off his power, and the effect was radiating all the way to the Lookout. But why was he powering up so much as to shake the whole planet?

"Dende, what's going on?" Mr. Popo ran outside, having felt the blast of energy.

"It's Vegeta," He explained to them, "I could sense his thoughts just before he powered up. He is in a rage. I'm not sure why, but he is going to kill Mr. Satan."

"What? That man from the Cell Games?" Gohan asked, aghast, "Why in the world would he want to do that?"

"I don't know. But I caught a glimpse of his mind when he charged his energy. He isn't thinking right. His head is a jumble of anger and pain. He may not be himself." Dende looked at Gohan hopelessly.

Gohan understood then, it was up to him. He didn't know Vegeta's motives, but he knew he couldn't allow him to murder an innocent person for no reason. And he was the only one who could face Vegeta.

"I'll have to stop him, then." He said, preparing to take flight.

"Wait!" Dende called, "Be careful. If Vegeta's not in his right mind, he may try to fight you."

"Don't worry," Gohan said, "I'll be fine." Sprinting full speed, he leapt from the Lookout and sped towards Vegeta's energy.

Gohan didn't want to admit it to himself, but this new development was rather exhilarating. It had been so long since he had needed to exert any force or power, so blazing through the sky like this was great. He was worried about Vegeta, but also pumped for some kind of action.

"Time to clean the cobwebs off." He said to himself as he rocketed through the sky. Trees and fields were a blur beneath him, and the mountains to either side came and went faster than the vapors of cloud he flew through.

Vegeta wasn't in West City anymore, but en route to the newly-renamed Satan City, home of Hercule. Noting this, Gohan plotted his course to intercept Vegeta, hopefully before he could reach the city. By his calculations, he should make it in under ten minutes at present speed.

As he flew, he wondered what had gotten into Vegeta. The last time he had seen him had been when he attacked Cell just before Gohan finished him. Dende had said that his mind wasn't right, but why? Had Cell given him brain damage? And why was he going to kill Hercule?

Time ran out to think however, as Vegeta came into view. Gohan blasted to a halt directly in his flight path. Seeing him appear, Vegeta put the brakes on as well, looking rather surprised to see him.

"You. Why are you here?" Vegeta demanded, fidgeting with irritation at being interrupted.

"I'm here to stop you," Gohan said, "I know what you're up to."

"Oh really?" Vegeta crossed his arms smugly, "And how could you know such a thing?"

"That's not important. I just want you to know that I'm not going to let you kill that man." Gohan tried his best to read Vegeta's actions, but the veteran warrior was giving nothing away.

"Idiot boy, get out of my way! You have no idea what you're talking about. If you know what I am planning to do, then surely you must know the reason!" Vegeta's mind was racing, wondering how the kid could have learned of his actions. Did the ability to read minds come with all that new power he achieved when fighting Cell?

"It doesn't matter the reason! I can't just let you murder someone, Vegeta. What's gotten into you?" Gohan was growing more confused by the minute. Vegeta seemed so certain of himself and of what he was doing. Did he know something Gohan didn't? Should he get out of his way? Maybe Dende had been wrong and there was a perfectly good reason Vegeta was doing this.

"You foolish child. You really don't get it, do you?" Vegeta shook his head in disgust, "Have you even watched the television since you fought Cell? That clown is all over the place, touting his defeat of Cell. He is claiming the victory when it was you who won. You of all people should feel the most injustice at this!"

"Injustice? Vegeta, that guy is a joke. We all know the real score, so let him blow hot air on the TV. What do you care?" Surely Vegeta couldn't be so caught up over this. There had to be something more.

"You are a Saiyan!" Vegeta yelled, his anger manifesting in waves, "Where is your honor? I knew your father was a gutless fool, but I hoped you would have your Saiyan pride."

"Pride has nothing to do with Hercule," Gohan said, taken aback by Vegeta's fervor, "So maybe it is a little unfair for him to reap all the glory, but I really don't care. The planet is safe now, and that's all that matters. You should let it go."

"I cannot let this go. That clown is disgracing the accomplishments of my race, and I will not stand for it. He will be silenced, so all the world can see what a fraud he is," Vegeta returned his energy to normal, his face smoothing over with a deadly calm, "Now get out of my way."

"No! I can't let you do this." Gohan was starting to sweat, as a fight seemed inevitable. Vegeta was certainly not the type of person to get a talking-to and go back home. If he had to, he would go through Gohan to get to his goal. And while Gohan knew he was stronger than Vegeta, he was still nervous. Ever since he had been their enemy all those years ago, something about Vegeta struck fear into the young Saiyan. And facing him all alone didn't help matters.

"Then you leave me no choice," Vegeta said icily, dropping into stance, "I will have to remove you first."

***

Author's Note: This is the story I always wanted to write, and now I'm finally doing it! More action to come later, so stay tuned! Oh, don't forget to leave a review, please!


	2. Chapter 2

In the Wake -- Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ.

Gohan's mind was racing with panic. This was really happening! Vegeta was really about to attack him. It had come down to this so quickly, he hardly remembered what they were even fighting about at this point. He was afraid, though he knew he shouldn't be. He was standing up for what was right, after all. But Vegeta was always so confident and firm, how could he stand against a force like that?

He watched as if in slow motion Vegeta prepare to launch his assault. The subdued instinct within him made him adopt a defensive stance of his own, ready to intercept the attack. But Gohan hadn't trained at all in five months, so he was more than a little rusty.

"Last chance, boy." Vegeta called, his familiar smirk framing his face, "Get out of my way now and you won't get hurt."

"No." Gohan said, resigning himself to the fight. His stomach was still lurching with nervousness, but he knew he had no real choice. He couldn't let Vegeta kill somebody who was innocent, pride or no pride. It just wasn't right.

"Fine." With a vicious yell, Vegeta propelled himself towards Gohan. The young Saiyan was caught off guard by such ferocity, and Vegeta's foot slammed into Gohan's head with tremendous force.

Gohan plummeted towards the ground, reeling inside from the force of the blow. He had forgotten how much it hurt to be hit by someone who rivaled his own power. But he managed to right himself before he hit the ground, and shaking the fuzz out of his head, he shot himself back towards Vegeta.

With a battle cry of his own, he tore into Vegeta. Raining punches and kicks as fast as he could throw them, Gohan tried to overwhelm Vegeta before the fight could go on too long. He hoped Vegeta would be shocked out of his desire to fight him. But he had forgotten the Saiyan Prince's love of battle.

Vegeta ate everything Gohan threw at him with gusto, a wild gleam in his eyes giving away just how much he was enjoying it. Gohan stopped after delivering a particularly hard punch to the face, which knocked Vegeta's head back over his shoulder in a most unpleasant-looking manner.

He was winded and afraid, but had to admit he was beginning to enjoy the feel of the fight again as well. But after a hit like that, he was sure Vegeta would probably be out of gas. He was mistaken. With a maniacal laugh, Vegeta righted his posture and faced Gohan. Blood ran unchecked down his face from a nasty cut just below his eye, but he didn't seem to notice.

He continued to laugh wildly, a crazed look in his eyes making him most fearsome to behold. Gohan thought again about the absurdity of going through all this trouble just to get at Mr. Satan.

"Dende was right," He thought to himself, "Vegeta really has lost it." He stared at him in shock, watching as the Saiyan Prince laughed at his attack. Gohan's familiar old fear of Vegeta was as strong as ever, times like these serving as a perfect reminder of it. He looked just like when he first came to earth, all those years ago. Gohan was just a child then, but remembered vividly his impression of Vegeta as a rabid wolf, slavering for the kill.

And here he was now, laughing hysterically with blood pouring down his face.

"What's the matter, boy? Giving up already?" Vegeta called, his laughter starting to fade, "I can't let you do that, you know. You're going to fight me with everything you've got. Kakarott may be dead, but I'm not that picky. If I can't kill him then I'll take his son as the next best thing!"

"What?" Gohan was astonished. Where did this come from? He thought all this was about Hercule, so why was Vegeta bringing the old feud between him and his father into it? Was he really so messed up as to be unable to distinguish what he was doing?

"That's right, Gohan. You heard me." Vegeta chucked again to himself, enjoying Gohan's confusion, "When your father died, I lost my chance to beat him. I will never forgive him for that. But when I decided to kill that idiot Satan for what he was doing, how could I have ever guessed that you would show up to stop me? You should see yourself, looking just like Kakarott, all noble and just. Standing up for the innocent? Foolish boy, you have given me the chance to prove myself that he stole. It may be better than Kakarott even, because you are stronger than he!"

Another vicious yell heralded Vegeta's power-up. He threw his head back and screamed to the heavens, his energy surging in waves around him. Super Saiyan came to him with all its golden glory. Gohan was taken aback, for it seemed Vegeta had somehow gotten even stronger than he was since Cell. The Saiyan Prince stood in the midst of his own hurricane of power, staring expectantly at Gohan.

Despite his fear, he knew he must stand up to Vegeta. It would take all the courage he could muster, but he was Goku's son after all. Forcing himself to breathe calmly, Gohan dug deep into himself, reaching for that old spark of fighting spirit that he once had.

He was still confused as to Vegeta's intentions, but knew it didn't matter at this point. He was clearly going to fight him, one way or another

"Dad, if you can hear me out there, please give me courage." Taking one final deep breath, Gohan began his transformation. There was a certain channel of energy he had to access to find the level of Super Saiyan he had achieved fighting Cell. He wasn't sure he could find it again, but he had to try.

Gohan achieved the first stage of Super Saiyan easily enough, the feeling similar to riding a bicycle in its familiarity. He looked at Vegeta, who stood still in the midst of his own power, grinning smugly.

"Don't stop there, Gohan. Show me your real power, the kind you had when you killed Cell." Vegeta was a master tactician, Gohan had to hand it to him. He was standing there, calm as a post, telling him to become more powerful than he. It didn't make sense, and Vegeta knew it.

"I'm calling your bluff, Vegeta!" Gohan said, his anger building. He was too deep in this fight now to turn back, so he might as well give it his all. He didn't like to fight needlessly, but something about this whole thing was extremely annoying. Plus he was, after all, the strongest person in the world. Why should he hold back?

Growling with the effort, Gohan began to dig for the power. He focused his every fiber into finding that channel of energy, thinking back to how it felt to use it all those months ago. His muscles tensed and his head bowed in concentration. It was so close, just within arm's reach. All he had to do was reach out and take it.

Then it was there. An explosion of power, liberating and glorious, filled his being. He felt his muscles harden, his tendons tighten like steel cord. Electricity began to crackle around him, the visible manifestation of all that energy in one area.

His every sense was sharpened, from sight to smell. He could read every nuance of Vegeta's emotion, and yet count the heartbeats of a animal on the ground below them. It was a wondrous feeling, all this ability. Such power was an intoxicating thing though, and he had to work to control himself. His father had warned him of this during their training in the Time Chamber.

He had told Gohan of that first rush he felt when he discovered the Super Saiyan ability. So much strength could drive a person to do things they wouldn't normally do. In Gohan's case, this was multiplied many times, and he could feel the primal energy trying hard to overpower his reason.

Vegeta stared at Gohan with a careful calm. He knew the boy's power, but made sure to not show any emotion that could be used against him. The first sign of weakness or worry, and it would be all over.

"Are you happy now, Vegeta?" Gohan asked, staring the older Saiyan down.

Vegeta said nothing, dropping into fighting stance with a smirk. The gap in their power was obvious, but he had a plan. A veteran warrior like Vegeta always kept a reserve tactic in case of emergency.

"I'm going to give you one more chance to stop this." Gohan said, exercising one final attempt at reason, "You know you can't beat me."

"Already you're weaker than you were when you fought Cell," Vegeta said, still in stance, "It's pathetic. A power such as yours gone to waste…the very thought sickens me. Even your ridiculous father would be ashamed."

"Shut up!" Gohan yelled, his rage bubbling up, "I can still beat you, Vegeta!"

"That's it, get mad! Come on and fight." Vegeta taunted, beckoning Gohan with his hand.

"I'm getting tired of you, Vegeta. I'll give you your wish, so you'll know where you stand once and for all." Gohan dropped back into fighting stance and charged his energy.

Faster than Vegeta could blink, Gohan struck. In a move similar to one he had used against Cell, he planted his fist firmly in the Saiyan Prince's gut. The impact knocked the wind out of him, and sent a mouthful of blood shooting into the air.

Wasting no time, Gohan then spun around a full circle and backhanded Vegeta across the face, sending him spiraling to the ground. Vegeta hit the ground like a bullet, blasting a crater the size of a house into the earth.

Gohan stared down with disdain, his every instinct telling him to take the opportunity to annihilate Vegeta quickly and completely. He fought with himself to remember that he didn't want to kill him, only stop him.

He didn't have to deliberate long however, as Vegeta soon shot up from the ground, raging mad. Once again level with Gohan, Vegeta stared at him with a steel glare. He was winded, those blows taking more out of him than he would care to admit. But he was a warrior, and wouldn't give up so easily.

He knew Gohan was stronger, but he was older and smarter than the boy. If he could work Gohan into a frenzy, he could outsmart him and possibly win. It was very dangerous, but the only real chance he had. Despite the terrible odds, Vegeta was in a state of bliss. A fight like this offered his Saiyan blood the best high in life. And he would savor every second.

Vegeta's thoughts were interrupted though, as a brief look of confusion flashed across Gohan's face. The boy shot his head to the side, as if looking for something. Then he sensed it too. An unfamiliar energy signature was heading straight for them.

"Blast it." Vegeta thought to himself, "What could this be now?"

Gohan turned and looked at Vegeta, who met his look and responded with a growl. This energy was completely alien to them. It was no one they knew but it was rather powerful nonetheless. Gohan decided to focus his attention on this new development, seeing no threat from Vegeta.

In a few moments, the person came into view. At first it was just a small speck, but soon they could make out details. It was a young man, perhaps in his mid-twenties. He looked rather unremarkable, with short, dark hair and average features. His clothing was plain, a pair of blue pants with a white shirt. In all he was a very normal looking person.

He stopped about twenty feet away from the Saiyans, looking at each of them in turn with a blank expression. His face did not move, nor did his body once he had reached them. He appeared as if a statue, completely still, save for his eyes.

"You are Vegeta, and you are Gohan." He said in a monotone voice, looking at each as he named them.

"How do you know that? Who are you, and why have you interrupted us?" Vegeta demanded, his irritation evident.

"I have no name. Your information was given to me by my maker, and I have come here to complete my mission." The man's dull voice answered each question in turn with concise direction.

"What are you talking about?" Vegeta's anger was rising by the second.

"What maker?" Gohan asked, baffled.

"My maker created me. She used her remaining power to impart into me everything she knew. This includes your information, and my mission." The man never blinked, staring straight ahead as he spoke.

"Who was your maker?" Gohan asked, feeling like he was speaking to a child.

"She was a supercomputer. Originally created by a scientist named Gero to oversee the creation of a work of his named Cell."

"What?" Gohan and Vegeta both exclaimed in unison. This was impossible! Another android? But Trunks and Krillin had destroyed Dr. Gero's lab months ago. They specifically sought out the underground laboratory where Cell was being incubated and blasted it, to prevent the creature being born in this timeline. How could this thing have come from that computer?

"You lie!" Vegeta yelled.

"No, I do not." The man said calmly.

"But that lab was destroyed. How can you come from that computer? Are you from the future?" Gohan asked, a sick feeling starting to gnaw at his stomach.

"I am not from the future. The laboratory was destroyed, but my maker remained. She was damaged, but used her final power to create me."

"But why? What is your mission?" Gohan was sure he didn't want to know.

"I have been designed to implement the programming of my creator. I am everything she was programmed to achieve but was unable. My mission is to destroy you."

***

Author's Note: I'd like to thank those of you who have read and reviewed this. I know at this juncture the plot seems to be rather mundane, but I promise it will get better. Please continue to read and review! Peace-


	3. Chapter 3

In the Wake -- Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ.

"Is that so?" Vegeta taunted, laughing, "Well I'd say you are more than a little late for that, android! They should have rolled you off the assembly line faster, because you have no hope of beating us now."

"I have your data. My creator made me strong enough to defeat you." The monotone android looked at Gohan and Vegeta, never showing the slightest hint of emotion.

"Really? When was this data on us gathered?" Vegeta asked, his look of arrogant confidence blatant on his face.

"Nearly four years ago." The android answered.

"Four years!" Vegeta fell into a fit of laughter, mocking the android, "You're as pathetic as those other tin cans Gero sent against us. They too underestimated our power. We have tripled our strength in four years, my friend."

"Regardless, my mission remains."

"Vegeta, this guy seems to be a pretty basic android," Gohan said under his breath, "If he doesn't even have a name, the computer must have focused all its attention on his main objective, and skimped on the rest."

"Like brains," Vegeta retorted, "Listen android, if you're so eager to die, then don't let us stand in your way. I will gladly dismantle you. And when I'm finished, I'll be sure to sell you for scrap!"

"Wait." Gohan called to the android, "Are you equipped with any way to sense power levels? If you could read ours, you'd know you couldn't win. Then we wouldn't have to fight."

"The creator outfitted me with a power detector. However I have your data, so it is pointless to use it."

"Turn it on and see for yourself." Gohan said. He wasn't sure if he could talk the android out of a fight, but he had to try. He knew Gero was a heartless old wretch, but this creation shouldn't have to be senselessly destroyed for its maker's evil dream. Besides, if 16 and 18 could give up their bad ways, then why shouldn't this guy be given the same chance?

"Gohan don't be absurd! Let's just blast this thing and be rid of it. I'm still not finished fighting you yet." Vegeta growled, his irritation evident.

"No, I've got to give it a chance. It's what my father would do." As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew he was going to hear it from Vegeta.

"What your father would do? Idiot, your father is dead because of his soft-hearted nature." Gohan winced at his words, but held his tongue. He knew deep down that Vegeta only ever meant half of what he said.

"Very well. I will gauge your power," The android blinked his eyes once but showed no other sign of life. He stood still for long moments, staring at nothing seemingly.

Vegeta snorted, "Look, you can see its gears seizing up. If that computer made this thing out of spare parts and scraps, then who's to say it can even handle what it's computing now? It'll probably fry a circuit when it senses our power."

"Maybe. But I almost feel sorry for him," Gohan said, "Like you said, it seems like that computer barely scraped him together. All he really has is his objective, a little intelligence, and some other minor gadgets. I want to try to convince him not to fight. If he's as simple as we think, he'll have to see that he can't win."

"You're absurd, Gohan. Those weakness of yours are going to end you up just like your father." Vegeta said, resigning himself to watch the show.

"I hope so." Gohan said under his breath.

After what seemed like an eternity waiting, the android finally moved. Its features were still blank, but it's eyes began to swiftly dart between Gohan and Vegeta. It was like Vegeta had said earlier, one could almost see the gears turning inside.

"I have gauged your power." The android said at last, "You were correct, I do not have the power to beat you."

"That's what I said!" Gohan said, hoping this would go like he wanted, "So since you know you can't win, why don't you give up trying to beat us?"

"I cannot beat you physically, but my mission remains. Logic dictates that if I cannot defeat you, then I must remove you. Once you are gone, I can continue my mission to destroy."

"What? Remove us?" Vegeta laughed, feeling an odd satisfaction with Gohan's plan failing, "And how do you plan to do that? I'm sorry, but I don't even think saying 'please' will get us to go."

"I have an integrated Shift Reactor within my chassis. I will remove you with it."

Gohan and Vegeta both were taken aback by this new revelation. What was this thing talking about now?

"A Shift…Reactor? What on earth is that?" Vegeta was growing ever more tired of this android. Now it seemed it may pose some sort of threat after all with this new development. They should have destroyed it earlier and asked questions later.

"The Shift Reactor was Gero's greatest project that did not involve artificial life. He discovered many years ago that the universe has a center. All things revolve around, and draw power from this center. Furthermore it was concluded that the lines of our reality are in fact not linear as humanity once believed, but inverted upon its transverse flux wave. These waves of reality are relative to the center of the universe. His design for the Shift Reactor reverses the flux waves in a given target."

"And what does that do?" Gohan asked, feeling that sick feeling in the pit of his stomach again. He looked at Vegeta, to see if he was perhaps drawing the same conclusion as himself, but he only looked angry.

"As I said before, everything is relative to its inverted line via the universal center. If these lines are reversed, the target will be sent to its inverse location, relative to the center."

"This doesn't sound good." Gohan said to Vegeta.

"Of course it doesn't! I told you we should have destroyed this thing earlier." Vegeta wasn't quite sure if he understood exactly what the android had been talking about, but he didn't need to. He knew it was something he didn't want to be a part of, regardless.

"One more question," Gohan asked the android, giving Vegeta a meaningful look. The older Saiyan nodded his head in understanding, and began to stealthily charge his energy.

"How did you get this Reactor? I thought you said the computer created you out of what energy it had left."

"That is true. Dr. Gero never got to complete his work on the Shift Reactor, but his data was stored in the computer. As she oversaw the incubation of Cell, she also worked on solving the final riddles of the Reactor. The design was completed soon after Gero's death, but the computer had no host or reason to build it. When she decided to create me, the pieces were already in place. All she had to do was construct the Reactor and install it.

It was programmed as my reserve tactic, should I be overwhelmed or outmatched. My mission is to destroy, but if I cannot, I will remove." Gohan thought he actually heard a hint of pride in the android's tone as it declared this.

He looked to Vegeta quickly, silently gauging his power. He was trying to gather energy without being detected by the android, but that was a slow process. He hadn't gotten nearly enough yet to kill it.

"Now you have been told all that you need to know," the android said, interrupting Gohan's thoughts, "It is time."

"Wait, I still have another question!" Gohan cried, hoping to stall the android a while longer.

"No more questions. I have answered you long enough to gather the energy I need to use the Shift Reactor. Now that it is fully charged, I may continue my mission." Having said that the android flew backwards a few dozen feet, and raised its arms in front of it. It faced the palms of its hands towards one another and began its attack.

A ball of white light appeared between the android's hands. It was unlike anything Vegeta or Gohan had seen. The very air around the light seemed to distort and warp, much like heat waves radiating off a hot surface. It was different though in that instead of radiating the waves, it seemed to be drawing them in. It was as if a white hole had opened in the sky and was drawing the very atmosphere inside it.

A terrible screeching noise emanated from the hole, sounding like a hundred steel structures colliding and smashing each other.

"We're too late!" Vegeta yelled over the din.

"No!" Gohan cried, exploding his power and charging a blast. He packed all the energy he could into the blast given the time he had, and set it loose.

The beam rocketed towards the android, its aim dead-on. However, just as it was about to impact, it diverted from its original course and was swallowed up by the hole. Gohan and Vegeta were immobilized with shock. What could they do against this thing? This android had outsmarted them after all, beating them at their own game.

They didn't have to berate themselves long though, for within seconds, their vision started to blur. It was the same as the waves surrounding the white hole, but everywhere they looked had the distorted haze. It was only a little distortion at first, but soon it was sickeningly obvious. There was no way to tell if their eyes were being affected or if the very world around them was wavering.

All the colors of the world around them swirled into an oppressing grey. The metallic, screeching noise was louder than ever. They didn't know if they were going to lose their vision or their hearing first. But just as it all seemed to reach a blindingly deafening crescendo, it all went black.

The darkness and silence that surrounded them now was almost louder than before. Neither dared speak, both so absorbed in their respective panic as to forget the other's existence. Had they died? Were they blinded by that haze, deafened by the noise? They both floated in the pitch-black oblivion for what seemed like both years and seconds. Time, along with everything else seemed to have disappeared.

And then there was light. It appeared at first a tiny speck in the distance, white on black. It was so small they weren't sure if it was really there. But gradually it grew in size until there was no mistaking the reality of it. As the spot of light grew, they also began to hear the noise again. They seemed proportionate to one another, light and noise. The bigger the source of light, the louder the noise.

Soon it was just as it had been before the blackness descended. The grey-filled vision, and ear-splitting din had returned. Then, as if in a reversed playback of what had happened before, it all started to fade. The grey world started to become distinguishable colors as the noise subsided.

Before long their vision was only slightly hazy, the noise all but inaudible in the distance. Gohan and Vegeta both looked around frantically, trying to see where they were. When the haze finally cleared and their natural vision sharpened to normal, all that could be seen was the ball of white light in front of them, minus the android holding it.

It too then, shrank away into nothingness.

***

Author's Note: Well the preliminaries are out of the way! Sorry for the relatively uneventful chapter, but it had to be done. Remember to R&R please, and have a wonderful day!


	4. Chapter 4

In the Wake -- Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ

The first thing they noticed was the sky. Hovering in the air, they were surrounded not by Earth's familiar blue, but by a deep purple color. Wherever they were was obviously daytime, for they could see for miles around clearly, despite the color of the sky.

Strange light-blue clouds contrasted with the purple sky smoothly, giving the place a surreal fantastical feeling. Below them they could see vast stretches of rolling fields of dark blue grass. The few trees spotted about the landscape were just as strange as the rest of the place.

Their shape looked just like an upside-down version of an Earth tree. The lion's share of stringy red foliage was spread across the ground, and from the center jutted massive branches of its green trunk. These 'trees', if that's what they were, seemed to be sparse in the area.

Gohan and Vegeta were speechless for a long time. Both tried to deal internally with what they were going through. So many questions they had to work out, not to mention fighting the seemingly inevitable onset of hysterical panic.

But they didn't panic. It was all just so overpowering that panic even seemed ridiculous.

"Where…are we?" Gohan asked quietly, as if speaking too loud would shatter his flimsy hold on his sanity.

"How in the world do you think I would know?!" Vegeta yelled, absolutely unafraid to let his steam out. As could be expected of Vegeta, instead of panicking in this situation, he only grew more angry.

Instead of replying to that remark, Gohan asked another question, "Then, what do we do now?"

"Would you keep quiet and let me think?" Vegeta barked. Gohan fell silent then, glad that at least something was being done.

After a few long moments, Vegeta spoke again, "I don't know what we should do. I don't know where we are, or how we can get back. This place is unlike anywhere I've ever been." His anger had apparently faded to irritated calm, which was a vast improvement. Gohan took some encouragement from his more relaxed state, and decided to speak again.

"Could this be another planet?" He braced himself for another violent remark, but it never came.

"If I had to guess, I would say it is. I've been trying to figure out what that android was talking about when he was explaining what he was going to do to us. All that talk of transverse flux waves is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."

"That's right!" Gohan had been so concerned with their present situation, he had all but forgotten anything the android had said, "He was talking about the universe. He said something about the center and that thing sending its target somewhere relative to the center."

"Yes, exactly. So if we are talking about Earth, then the opposite place relative to the center of the universe would be twice the distance between the Earth and the center." Vegeta took a deep breath, the enormousness of the situation sinking in the more he reasoned it out.

"I already know this, but just how big is the universe?" Gohan said softly, not really wanting to hear the answer.

"Very, very big." Vegeta had all but lost his anger, which frightened Gohan nearly as much as the pickle they were in. They fell into another spat of silence for a while.

Gohan broke the ice again though, "If this is another planet…then it must be similar to Earth, because we can breathe. And there may be people here who could give us a ship to get home in!"

"Just listen to yourself!" Vegeta snapped, his usual temper flaring up a bit, "We just said how impossibly large the universe is. Even if there was a race of people here who had the technology to achieve space travel, could understand what we said to them, and could give us a ship…you can't fly across the universe in a ship! It would take millions of years in a lightning-fast ship!"

"But maybe the Earth is close to the center of the universe, and we wouldn't have to fly but…"

"It's not!" Vegeta yelled, cutting Gohan off, "We don't have time to indulge in foolish hopes. We have to face the facts…however harsh they may be."

"So what do we do then? We can't just give up and sit around until we die!" Gohan was finally starting to feel the hysteria. Vegeta's cold, factual truths were not what he needed right now.

Vegeta said nothing for a few moments, but soon his familiar, arrogant smirk appeared on his face, "Saiyans never give up."

For some reason, Gohan suddenly felt an immense wave of gratitude wash over him. In this moment, he was so glad Vegeta was with him. Obviously being alone in this mess would be unbearable, but Vegeta just seemed to be the perfect person to be stranded on an alien planet with.

He was one of the most efficient, resourceful, and ruthlessly intelligent people he knew aside from Piccollo. He had to admit that even his own father, whom he missed terribly now, probably wouldn't be as capable of getting them home as Vegeta. Even his instant-transmission probably wouldn't stretch as far as Earth. No, if there was any way to get home, Vegeta would find it at all costs.

It all reminded him forcefully of his training with Piccollo as a child. The parallel was so similar it was scary. Then, he had been taken from home against his will and forced to survive with a volatile and frightening companion. Now he had been taken away from home and was about have to survive with a volatile and frightening companion.

His gratitude remained however, despite these thoughts. He knew Vegeta wasn't a bad person, despite his personality defects. And he had already proven how much he valued his Saiyan brethren, even if it was only so he could beat them one day. So Gohan didn't have to worry about him leaving him stranded here.

"So…what should we do first?" Gohan dared to ask. It was a question that would have to be addressed sooner or later, so they might as well brainstorm about it.

"We should probably scout the planet for inhabitants. Obviously the best outcome would be to find a technologically advanced civilization here with the means to send us back home. We shouldn't discount that until we learn otherwise.

I will be the one to search for inhabitants. You should stay here and try to learn about the natural resources available. We're going to have to eat, so see if there is any fruit or game that is edible to us."

"Are you sure you don't want me to come looking with you?" Gohan was pretty sure Vegeta didn't need help, but the thought of being left alone out here was a little unnerving.

"Yes I'm sure. Just do what I told you. I will return when I've found something…or nothing." With that, Vegeta shot off through the sky. Gohan watched him until he was out of sight. It suddenly felt rather quiet and eerie.

He made himself remember how he learned to live on his own as a child during his training with Piccollo. It was so scary at first, but his fear was only of fear itself it turned out. And he wasn't a child anymore. He was almost a teenager, and needed to start acting like one. The last thing he wanted to do was look weak in front of Vegeta.

So with a sigh, he slowly lowered himself to the ground. Everything was so much bigger down there than it had appeared to be in the air. The strange, blue grass was knee deep, and those backwards trees were massive things that towered nearly one hundred feet high.

There was almost nothing familiar here. Gohan realized that what kept throwing him off was that he was trying to draw similarities with the Earth, when there were none at all in this place. Every thing he could see was different in some respect. Even the grass, despite its blue color, wasn't like the grass on Earth. Instead of blades, this grass was a wispy, hair-like affair. The red vines that sprawled out from the base of the trees weren't like normal vines. They were flexible, but retained their position when moved. They reminded Gohan of those lamps with the metal coil around the power cord, that could be manipulated into any position that suited the operator.

He despaired of ever finding anything edible here. This alien planet was what they had in mind when they invented the word alien, Gohan thought dryly. That aside, he didn't even know how to tell if anything was edible, even if he found something that resembled fruit.

"That Vegeta knew darn well what he was doing when he gave me this job."

***

"I still can't believe this has happened," Vegeta thought as he rocketed through the sky, "It's so infuriating! Here are the two most powerful people in the universe; Super Saiyans of limitless ability…and we can't even get home!"

Vegeta scoured the landscape for anything that may resemble life. It wasn't a terribly difficult task, for much of the terrain he had covered thus far was more of the same blue grass and odd trees. He thought briefly about Gohan's plight. He knew the boy would have trouble finding something to eat.

It was something that had to be done, though. Besides, if this planet had breathable air and a temperature span that was tolerable, there was every chance something would grow or live here that they could eat. In fact the climate and landscape was so similar to Earth, Vegeta had fairly high hopes of finding some intelligent life. The only real differences here were the colors of things and how they had adapted to survive.

He looked around briefly to see if he could find the planet's star. He couldn't see one in the thick purple sky, but was pretty sure it was a different color than Earth's. That would largely explain the pigmentation differences in the vegetation.

What was curious was the apparent lack of fauna. He hadn't seen the first animal or sign of movement since he had left the spot where they appeared. That didn't bother him too much, because he wasn't looking hard for animals. That was Gohan's job.

***

"Man, what do I do now?" Gohan plopped down on the grass with a huff. He had been looking high and low for anything that may be promising for nearly four hours (or so he figured). He had expected to find some berries or fruits and then worry about learning if they were edible later. But he hadn't seen the first thing that even looked like a berry.

His stomach was grumbling and he was put out with Vegeta for leaving him with this task. He missed his mother terribly. He just knew she was going to completely lose it when it got dark and he didn't come home. It was such a depressing thought to realize that unless they were extremely lucky, they may never be coming home.

Gohan too had been noticing the absence of animal life. Earlier in his hunt for food he had tried to look for insects or small critters that could be eaten, since fruit was so hard to find. But there appeared to be nothing at all here. He hadn't seen the first fly or crawling insect. No little beasts scampered in the odd trees and no birds occupied the sky.

So he was startled immeasurably when he heard footsteps behind him. He shot around to see what was there, but the sound had stopped. Standing up, he looked around for whatever it could have been. He was sure it wasn't his imagination.

"Hello?" He dared to call. He immediately felt like an idiot afterwards, knowing full well any indigenous people here wouldn't speak the common tongue from his galaxy. But the thought of another living thing here! It gave him hope, however small.

He wasn't expecting his quarry to step out from behind the bushes and greet him. And he really wasn't expecting to see another person.

Standing before him was a young girl, perhaps a few years older than Gohan. She was wide-eyed with a curious fear, and held a long stick in front of her to defend herself with if necessary. She was a little dirty, and a bit too thin. But the most astounding thing about her was that she was human!

"Who are you?" She asked. She was trying to be stern and demanding, but her fear was getting the better of her, making her question sound rather timid.

Gohan saw her fear and tried to be as calm and gentle as possible. He raised his hands in a non-threatening way to show he meant no harm. Inside though, he was exulting with this discovery.

"My name is Gohan," He said deliberately, "What's yours?"

"How did you get here?" The girl asked, ignoring his question. Gohan could see that despite her efforts at strength, she was obviously excited to see him here as well.

"My friend and I were sent here against our will. We're not sure where we are or how to get back," He waited a moment to see if she was going to reply. The girl only looked thoughtful, "Is this your home?"

"Of course not." The girl said with a sigh. She lowered her stick and relaxed her tense posture. She seemed to have decided Gohan was no threat.

Gohan remained quiet, not wanting to scare this girl. He was so overjoyed that someone else was here. It didn't matter the reason or situation at this point, only the fact that he wasn't alone.

"Can I trust you not to try anything?" The girl asked, still eyeing him skeptically. It was obvious she was feeling the same as Gohan and hoping he wasn't a threat.

"Yeah," Gohan said with a laugh, "I'm not going to hurt you. Right now, I'm just hungry. I can't find anything to eat around here." He raised his arms to emphasize the area in which he had been searching.

After another moment of deliberation, the girl extended her hand, "I'm Lauren."

Gohan shook it with a smile, "Pleased to meet you."

Lauren was such a normal name, Gohan thought. Where was she from? It was obvious she was a human, and as far as he knew, humans only grew on Earth. She was a little bit taller than him, maybe an inch. Of course with his hair, he appeared to be the taller. Her hair was blonde, perhaps shoulder-length. Gohan couldn't tell because she had it tied in a sort of pony-tail. She had big green eyes that seemed to take in more than was evident, leading Gohan to believe she was pretty smart.

"Come with me, I'll get you fed." Lauren led the way, heading out across the fields of blue grass. Gohan followed happily. Wait until Vegeta gets back and finds this!

"So where are you from?" Gohan asked the question that was most prevalent in his head.

Lauren turned her head and grinned, "The Earth."

***

Author's Note: So now the story begins to form. The plot thickens, as the old saying goes. As always, thank you all for reading and reviewing, and stay tuned!


	5. Chapter 5

In the Wake -- Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ.

Lauren led the way for nearly an hour. They crossed vast flowing fields of the blue grass and even a forest. Gohan thought it must be a forest, for it was the largest concentration of those tree things he had seen yet. It was extremely odd, he noticed, that there seemed to be very little other vegetation around. Aside from the trees and grass, he had seen perhaps only two or three different types of bush or weed.

When he asked Laura if she knew anything about this, she only said, "Just wait."

They did, however, find water. Gohan knew he shouldn't be surprised at the find, but it seemed out of place somehow, still. The large, black river wended its way through the land, twisting and turning until it went out of sight. Laura heaved a sigh at the sight of it.

"This is where the time consuming part comes in." She said, looking askance at the water, which spanned a few hundred feet across from shore to shore.

"What do you mean?" Gohan asked her, seeing nothing wrong with the water.

"Where we're going is right over there," She said, pointing across the water to a piece of land nearly a half-mile away, "But we can't swim this river, so we have to go around a long way. It took me nearly three hours to get to where you were."

With a sigh, Lauren turned and started walking down the bank of the river. Gohan followed, somewhat confused at her words.

"You mean you came looking for me?" He asked.

"Well yeah, kind of. You see, we heard you and your friend yelling, and my father sent me to investigate." She shrugged her shoulders, a sheepish grin on her face.

"Your father? You mean, you're here with your father?" Gohan couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Yeah. But I'll let him tell you the story when we get back. I'm not good at telling it," She walked along for a few more moments before speaking again, "So tell me about yourself, Gohan. Where are you from?"

"I'm from the Earth, too," He said, not really knowing what else he could say that might make interesting conversation. He could just see it now, 'I'm Gohan, I study all day and night because my mommy won't let me do anything else. I'm probably the strongest person in the universe, but it doesn't matter if I don't make an A in math!'

The more he thought about it, the more agitated it made him. He vowed then and there that if he ever got back home, he'd do something other than study all the time, no matter what it was. It was embarrassing, really.

"Gohan? You still there?" Lauren snapped him out of himself, looking at him with an amused skepticism.

"Yeah, sorry. You know, it would just probably be easier if I showed you a little about myself, instead of telling." He stopped walking and turned to face her.

"What do you mean?" Lauren asked, taking a step back.

"Well, I can get us across the water a lot faster is what I mean." A grin formed on his face as he realized he was actually enjoying messing with her.

"How? Do you have a Capsule boat?" Lauren's face brightened at the thought.

"Not exactly." He said. Grin still in place, he slowly started to levitate off the ground. He figured he'd ham it up a bit so he flexed his energy enough to make the grass wave out in ripples from under him. Lauren gasped and jumped back, her eyes bulging.

Gohan laughed, extending his hand to her, "Will you trust me?"

Lauren stared at his hand, then at him, "You can…fly?" The shock was evident in her voice.

"Yeah. You did ask about me, after all. Now, give me your hand." He could see the deliberation in her face. He hadn't thought about it before, he realized it must be hard for her to trust him. They didn't know each other at all and here they were, all alone in the middle of an alien planet. She was brave, he had to give it to her.

She tentatively reached out and took his hand. In a flash, Gohan reached down and grabbed her other hand, then threw her up and caught her in his arms. He supported her back with one arm and her legs with the other. Lauren let out a small shriek at being abruptly tossed, but otherwise steeled herself well.

"Don't worry, I've got you." Gohan said, before beginning his ascent. He didn't know why, but for some reason he felt like showing out a bit. Maybe it was this situation, and him feeling like he was rebelling against his helplessness here. Or maybe it was something else. Either way, he made it a point to go much higher than necessary to cross the river.

As they began to ascend, Lauren threw her arms around Gohan's neck and clung for dear life. She stared over her shoulder at the ground as it fell away beneath them. Gohan grinned again, watching with admiration as she slowly started to realize they weren't going to plummet to their deaths.

He took his time getting over the river. It felt good to be able to do something productive and meaningful, however small. Lauren was watching the ground with wonder. He envied her a bit, having forgotten how amazing it is to be able to see the ground that way when you're not used to it.

His stomach interrupted them. It let loose a massive growl that could seemingly be heard for miles. His face reddened with embarrassment.

Lauren looked at him and giggled, "So you can fly. But you've still got to eat, huh?"

"Yeah, sorry." Gohan said, smiling. The strangest thing hit him then. Maybe it was their proximity to one another, but as He and Lauren looked at one another, he noticed just how luminous her green eyes were. They seemed to glow, the amusement in them sparkling almost visibly.

And there was some sort of aroma he could detect, now that he was thinking about it. It wasn't a real scent, but it seemed like more of an aura. He couldn't put his finger on it, but it was pleasant nonetheless.

Before he could think anymore about it, Lauren looked back down. He wasn't sure, but he thought he saw her blush. Another growl from his stomach effectively put an end to any thoughts of his but food. He and Lauren shared a laugh again, and continued flying.

They landed on the other side of the river.

"Do you want to fly the rest of the way?" Gohan asked, still holding Lauren.

"Well, it is fun," She said, "But I don't know how my father will feel about seeing me in a boy's arms like this." She blushed for sure this time.

Gohan laughed, "I understand." He bent and sat her on her feet. Lauren turned and looked at him again.

"I still can't believe you can fly. Are you really from Earth?" She looked at him with wonder. Gohan felt his ego starting to swell a little under her admiration.

"Yeah, I'm really from Earth."

"Can you do anything else? I mean, do you have superpowers or anything?"

"Well let's just say I can do a little more than fly. I'll show you later. But…can we eat first?" He looked at her apologetically.

"Sure, let's go," Lauren said with a laugh, as they started to walk, "After all, I've got to repay you somehow. You rescued me from killing my feet for hours."

"Any time." Gohan said with a smile.

Lauren and her father were staying under a cluster of those trees. They too had seen how the red vines retained whichever position they were manipulated into, and had used that to make their shelter. It was a rather large affair, and even had two 'rooms' in it. Lauren told Gohan that it had taken them days to position everything just right.

The floor had been stripped of grass. Two beds there were, consisting of hammock-like positioning of the vines. All in all, it was a rather homely place.

"Well the food's over here. It isn't much but it's the only edible thing here that we could find." Lauren pointed to a spot on the floor where cut portions of the red vines were piled.

"You mean the vines? Can you really eat them?" Gohan was amazed.

"Yep. If it weren't for these, we would have starved a while back. They're not too bad, really. Kind of tastes like steak. You have to cook them, though. I'll start a fire." She started to go about gathering the tools to make fire.

"Don't worry about it, I can cook them myself." Gohan said, grabbing a piece. The vines grew about three inches around, but Lauren and her father had cut them into halves about five inches long.

"How can you cook them?" Lauren asked dubiously. By the tone of her voice, she obviously thought Gohan was crazy.

"Like this." Gohan turned so she could see and, vine in hand, flared up his energy in his palm. Within seconds, the cooking had deepened the red of the vine to a rust color. Having finished, Gohan handed the piece to Lauren, "Try it."

She tentatively took the piece, amazed that it was warm to the touch. It looked cooked, anyway. Slowly she bit into it, eyes widening at the result.

"How did you do that?" She asked.

"Superpowers, remember?" Gohan said with a laugh. He turned and started to gather an armload of the stuff, "Where's your dad?"

"Oh he must be at the ruins. He goes out there every day."

"Ruins? You mean the ruins of a people?" Gohan's heart leapt at the thought that at least there were once people here.

"Yeah. We don't know how old the ruins are exactly, but they're pretty ancient. Like I said though, I'll let dad tell you everything."

"Wow. Do you know if there are any living people on the planet?" Gohan asked.

"We don't think so. There aren't any signs that we've seen anyway."

"That's not good. Vegeta's gone looking for inhabitants. He'll be sour when he gets back, that's for sure."

"Your friend is searching…the whole planet?" Lauren asked, taken aback.

"Yeah. He can fly too."

"You are amazing." Lauren said quietly.

"What?" Gohan turned around, a piece of vine hanging out of his mouth.

"Nothing." Lauren said, smiling.

They ate outside. Lauren and her father had found an old metal box of some sort at the ruins which served as their table. Upon closer inspection, Gohan noticed all sorts of things around their hut. There were odds and ends of every fashion, from cups to wheels and even what appeared to be a few toys.

He noticed that everything metal, their table included, was an odd shade of dark green. He was no metallurgist, but he guessed there was something about the makeup of the ore that gave it that tint.

"Gohan?" Lauren asked from across their 'table'.

"What's up?"

"I'm glad you're here. It's been really lonely for me."

Gohan noticed that odd feeling was coming back. It was something funny in his gut, but not unwelcome. He smiled, "I'm glad you found me."

Lauren blushed again, and returned her attention to her plate of vines. Gohan looked at her for a few more moments. He felt sorry for her for having been dealt whatever hand had landed her and her father here. It didn't seem right. She should have a happy, normal life.

The more he thought about it, the madder he got. What made it worse was that he didn't have any particular thing to be mad at. He just knew that now he had a new reason to find a way out of here. It wasn't just for himself any more. He was going to save this girl too.

Gohan felt better now that had a purpose to aim for. His mind set, he went back to his food.

He took longer to eat than Lauren of course. She was amazed at the amount of food he could put back. He ended up eating all of their store of vines, and cutting a few more armfuls from the nearby trees. When he finished though, he set to work cutting them a new stash of vines to have in their hut.

It was during his time cutting new vines that Gohan heard footsteps approaching. He turned and looked around for the source. Soon a person came into view.

"Hey dad!" Lauren called.

***

Vegeta had flown for hours. He was starting to despair of ever finding anyone on this ridiculous planet. Aside for the few rivers he had seen, there was nothing but grass and trees. What kind of place could only have two forms of vegetation?

Still, there was always a chance. He had nothing better to do, and didn't particularly care to sit around and sing campfire songs with Kakarott's boy. He was starting to get hungry though, and wondered if Gohan had found any luck with the food.

Of course, if everywhere was like this, there wasn't anything to try to eat but the grass or trees. What a way to die, Vegeta thought. The Prince of the Saiyan race, ranked with the Super Saiyans of legend, starved to death.

The very thought made his blood boil. If he ever got his hands around the neck of that blasted android that sent them here, he'd pulverize it.

And thinking of the android, there was no telling what kind of damage it was doing back on Earth. No doubt it would attempt to carry out its mission of destruction in the most efficient and logical way possible. There would be no dalliance like with 17 and 18. It would be swift and merciless.

Maybe 18 and Piccollo could stop it. He hadn't gotten a super-clear reading on its power, but it seemed to be pretty even to what he thought theirs was. It would be a close call. He wondered idly about how he was able to sense its power level at all. With the other androids he hadn't been able to.

It didn't really matter though, for those answers were useless here. He had to find a way off this planet.

***

"Pleased to meet you, Gohan. Although your presence is a real surprise to me." Lauren's father, Stephen, shook hands with Gohan.

Stephen was a scientist, Lauren had said. He didn't look the scientist type, though. He was a younger man, perhaps in his thirties. His hair was blonde, the same as Lauren's. He seemed to be in excellent physical shape, despite his profession as a nerd.

"Yeah, I didn't think there'd be anyone else here either." Gohan said.

"So I'm curious. How did you get here exactly? You say you and a friend of yours are here?" Stephen went about gathering up three stools for them all to sit on.

"Yes, sir. It's kind of hard to explain, but we were sent here against our will. A scientist named Dr. Gero built an android with something called a Shift Reactor in it."

"A Shift Reactor?" Stephen cut Gohan off.

"Yeah, have you heard of that?" Gohan asked, feeling hopeful.

"Oh we've heard of it," Lauren chimed in, "One of those sent us here, too."

***

Author's Note: One more down! I want to apologize now for any confusion about the content of this story. Apparently a few of you have thought this was going to be a VegetaxGohan thing. I'll clear it up…it's not. I'm sorry if that's what you were looking for, but you won't get it from me. Otherwise please R&R and have a wonderful day!


	6. Chapter 6

In the Wake -- Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ.

Gohan listened intently as Stephen explained their story.

"To put it simply, my particular brand of scientific interest led me to start thinking of ways to explore the universe. In my spare time, I'd study and work out the problems of what most people today call 'wormholes'. I realized that the technology needed to create a proper wormhole doesn't exist on Earth yet. What could be done though, in theory, was to create a 'shift' in a person to transport them to the location opposite their own, relative to the center of the universe.

I posted a paper in the scientific community with my proposition. Only one man, Dr. Gero, believed my idea carried any weight. He contacted me and we brainstormed about the possibilities of shift technology for a few days. Apparently, he managed to build a Shift Reactor of his own."

"Yeah, along with a handful of deadly androids." Gohan said, shrugging his shoulders.

"I always got the impression he was a little off, but a lot of radically intelligent people are. I never imagined he was that much of a threat, or I would never have told him anything." Stephen stared at the ground, a look of guilt on his face.

"Don't beat yourself up," Gohan said, "No one would blame you. You couldn't have known what he'd do."

"Maybe. I guess it doesn't matter now though. Anyway, all that happened a few years back. Recently I managed to build one of my own. As far as I knew at the time, it was the first of its kind. I was going to make a big deal of unveiling it to the scientific community. But during my finishing touches to the design, I accidentally set it off in my lab. Unfortunately, Lauren was with me and we were both sent here. That was about six months ago."

"I'm really sorry." Gohan said, "Is there any hope for getting back?"

"There might be," Stephen said, shrugging his shoulders, "I'm trying to piece together another Shift Reactor here. If I can get it to work, it can send us all back to Earth."

"Really?" Gohan said, jumping from his seat in excitement, "That's amazing! You can really build another one?"

"Hopefully," Stephen said, "But there's no guarantee. It's what's giving us hope now, but the process is dangerous to say the least. I have to make sure I get everything perfect, or it could kill us. I've been scavenging the nearby ruins for components. I haven't had time to study the evolutionary course of this planet much, but the civilization that was here before was fairly advanced by Earth's standards. I'm hoping I can gather what I need to build this thing from their remains."

"Wow. You can really do that?" Gohan was quite impressed by Stephen's knowledge.

"Yeah, dad's really smart. If anyone can get us out of here, he can." Lauren looked at her father proudly, eliciting a smile from him.

"I hope I can do it. Like I said, I'm pretty much rigging this thing together with scraps. But I haven't hit any major snags so far, which is a good thing."

"Well if I can help you in any way, just let me know," Gohan said, "If we all work together, we can get home!"

"Gohan's really strong, dad," Lauren said, giving Gohan a smile, "He can even fly!"

"Can you? That's amazing." Stephen seemed as impressed by this revelation as Lauren had been.

"Yeah," Gohan said, blushing, "It's not that great though. I could never do what you're doing."

"Don't be modest, Gohan," Stephen said, "You have already done a great deal for me."

"What do you mean?" Gohan asked.

"Well I work pretty much all the time on the reactor. If I'm not scavenging at the ruins, I've got my head buried in my plans, so Lauren gets very lonely I imagine. Now that she has a friend to keep her company, I won't feel quite so bad about leaving her alone so much."

"Oh, well I don't mind." Gohan said, realizing that he really didn't mind being friends with Lauren. In fact, he enjoyed it a good deal.

"So tell me about yourself," Stephen said, leaning back, "How is it you can fly?"

Gohan deliberated for a few moments about whether he should tell them of his Saiyan blood. Would it freak them out and make them not trust him? Still, he didn't like hiding things. And they were pretty much the only friends he had here. So he decided it wouldn't hurt.

"Well, I'm really only half-human," He waited for the shock to hit. It never did, so he continued tentatively, "My father is of an alien race known as the Saiyans."

"Alien? They must be humanoid then, because you look quite human." Stephen said, his scientific mind obviously working.

"Yes sir, you really can't tell the difference. In fact, everyone thought my father was human for years. You see, he was sent to the Earth when he was a baby. He decided to live as an Earthling though, and settled down with my human mother." Gohan didn't really care to tell them that his father was supposed to have killed everyone on Earth.

"That's rather interesting. I never knew of the existence of the Saiyans. And they are biologically compatible with humans! How interesting. So they are very strong by our standards, then?" Stephen apparently didn't care that he was speaking with an alien. His trip to this world must have desensitized him from such things.

"Yeah, pretty much. Vegeta, my friend who came with me here, is a pure-blooded Saiyan. Back on Earth we all train to fight and defend the planet. I don't mean to brag, but recently I defeated one of Dr. Gero's androids named Cell."

"You beat Cell?" Lauren asked, "But Hercule Satan said that he was the one who killed him."

Gohan suddenly understood Vegeta's earlier anger at Mr. Satan's claim. For some reason, he wanted Lauren to know that it had really been him. It hadn't mattered much to him before, so he didn't understand why he wanted to show off so much in front of her.

"No, it was me. That Hercule could never beat the likes of Cell." Gohan said proudly.

"Yes now that you mention it, his claim does seem odd. I never really understood how he could have done that. But since Cell had been defeated somehow I didn't put too much thought into the matter." Stephen said, appraising Gohan.

After that little bragging session, Gohan felt kind of bad. He wasn't usually the type to say that sort of stuff. He looked up at Lauren only to find her staring at him. When his eyes met hers, she quickly lowered her head.

'Now I've done it,' He thought, 'I've scared her. Now she thinks I'm a freak.'

Stephen was oblivious to this whole exchange though, as he continued with his questions, "So you Saiyans are similar to humans in almost every way, then. Are there any differences, aside from your power?"

Gohan figured he'd already ruined himself in Lauren's eyes, so he might as well be honest, "Well we were all born with tails."

"Tails? What for?"

"If we look at a full moon, we transform into a giant ape. The Saiyans were a warlike race, and this transformation gave them great power to defeat their enemies. It only happens if we have our tails, though. We have all had ours cut off one way or another over the years, so it doesn't work anymore." He was bracing himself to see Lauren get up and run away screaming at this point. She never did, though.

"Amazing," Stephen said, clearly rapt in all of this, "A lunar transformation. But I noticed you said the Saiyans 'were' a warlike race. Did something happen to them?"

"Yeah. They were mostly all destroyed. Vegeta is the only pure-blooded Saiyan left, since my father was killed by Cell." Gohan was starting to feel pressured with this whole questioning process. He wished Vegeta were her to answer Stephen's questions. The proud Prince of all Saiyans could certainly go on for hours about his superior race.

"Dad, why don't you lay off the questions. You're probably making him feel uncomfortable." Lauren stood up and looked at her father like a mother would to a curious child.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry." Stephen said, coming out of his thoughts, "I tend to get carried away with new discoveries. I apologize if I've been rude."

"No, it's okay." Gohan said, silently thankful for the intervention.

"At any rate, I should get back to work. I've just found a device today that I believe could function as a soldering iron! This should help me a great deal." Stephen stood and ambled over to a table with a multitude of trinkets set about it.

"Um, could I ask one more question?" Gohan asked Stephen, remembering something that had been bothering him.

"Sure, Gohan." Stephen said, turning to face him.

"Well, I don't know if you know anything about it, but I've noticed there doesn't seem to be but a few different types of plants on this planet. Do you know why?"

"You know, I started to wonder that very thing myself soon after we got here," Stephen said, sitting down at his work table, "I don't know for sure, but if I had to guess, I'd say that some sort of violent weather phenomenon ravaged the planet in the past. The grass and trees must be a very resilient type of plant life, and have resurfaced, despite the catastrophe."

"Oh, well I guess that makes sense." Gohan said.

"I could be wrong, of course. But that hypothesis seems to be the most valid, given the fact that intelligent life existed at one time here."

"Let's get out of here before he starts rambling again," Lauren said, grabbing Gohan's hand and leading him away.

"Where are we going?" Gohan asked, letting Lauren lead them through the trees.

"Nowhere in particular," Lauren said, giving Gohan a sly smile, "I just didn't feel like hearing dad go on about his ideas anymore."

"Oh, well it doesn't bother me." Gohan said, not wanting to talk bad about her father.

"Well I get tired of it after a while," Lauren said, "Now I've got to go get a bath."

"A bath?" This shocked Gohan, as the idea of bathing hadn't crossed his mind yet. It made sense though, a person had to stay clean.

"Yes, a bath," Lauren said, giving him a funny look, "I got all dirty earlier, going to look for you. Now you stay here, and I'll be back soon."

"But…where can you bathe around here?" Gohan asked, seeing nothing but grass and trees.

"There's a stream a few hundred feet from here," Lauren said, pointing off in the distance, "You're not going to peek, are you?"

"Of course not!" Gohan cried, blushing red.

"You'd better not," Lauren said coyly, "I'm going to trust you."

With that, she took off across the grass. Gohan turned around facing the opposite direction and sat down. His mind started to jumble, now that he was alone. The past few hours had been filled with so much, he didn't know what to make of it all.

Certainly the first thing on his mind was the hope Stephen had given him about the Shift Reactor. If he could really do that, they could get home! It was a wonderful thought, but Gohan's subconscious warned him not to get too carried away with it. If it didn't work out, they'd have to have another plan. He told himself he'd keep his eyes open for any alternatives that may arise.

The second most pressing item was Lauren. For some reason, she seemed to be having an effect on him that he had never experienced before. He found her company very enjoyable, and wanted to be close to her. And as he had learned a little while earlier, he wanted her to like him. He wanted this enough to have gone out of his way to boast about something he had been very modest about up till now.

That realization in and of itself hit him like a ton of bricks. He wanted her to like him. So that meant by default that he liked her, obviously. But what was confusing was how much he found himself liking her.

Gohan shook his head with agitation, the whole issue giving him a headache. He decided he'd just try to forget about it and let the chips fall where they may. It would do no good pondering such things anyway.

But one last thing kept bugging him. It wasn't predominant in his mind like the issue with Lauren, but it was there nonetheless, like a fly in his brain. The lack of plant diversity here was an odd puzzle. Stephen didn't seem to think it was anything more than an interesting trifle. But his idea about a planet-wide storm destroying everything seemed to ring an odd bell within Gohan.

There was something that didn't sit right with the whole situation. He couldn't put his finger on it, but it had to do with the ruins of the civilization, and Stephen's mention of the grass and trees being the most resilient forms of flora. It was a riddle that he feared deserved more attention than anyone had given it.

Gohan had been feeling an odd sort of uneasiness since he had arrived on this planet. Everywhere he looked seemed to prick something in his gut that triggered a reaction to danger. It was vexing that he couldn't understand the reason behind it.

His thoughts were interrupted though, as Lauren returned. As before, he heard her approaching before he saw her. Once he noticed her coming up, he stood and turned to face her. He was not prepared for his own reaction.

She looked stunning. Gohan could do nothing but stare, marveling at the difference he saw in her. She was still very much the same girl, wearing her semi-baggy brown cargo pants and black tank top. But something about her seemed to glow now.

Maybe it was that she had washed the dirt and caked mud off her arms and face, or maybe it was that she had taken her hair out of its ponytail and let it flow freely about her shoulders. Whatever the reason, Gohan felt as if he had been hit in the gut.

He couldn't tell if Lauren had noticed his attention or not, but she flipped her hair playfully and gave him a grin as she walked up.

"That's much better." She said with a sigh.

"Yeah, a nice bath can do wonders." Gohan said, half to himself.

"Definitely. I can't wash as good as I'd like, but the water is really fresh here, and those vines get kind of spongy when you wet them. They make a fair substitute for soap."

"Those vines seem to be a miracle plant." Gohan said off hand, finding it hard to pay attention to much other than how good Lauren seemed to smell.

"Yeah, they are. Come on, let's go." Lauren said, taking Gohan's hand and leading him again.

"Where to this time?" He asked, amused. The girl certainly had a lot of energy.

"I want to take you to my favorite place. At least, it's my favorite place on this planet." She led the way across the little blue hills for nigh on ten minutes, before coming to a stop at the base of a particularly large one.

"This is one of the highest hills around. The other side of it is a cliff face, so you can sit up there and see for miles around." Her explanation given, she started up it. When they reached the top and could see over, Gohan had to admit it was a beautiful view.

Below them the blue landscape unfolded for miles, as she had said. A ways off was the river, twisting snakelike to the horizon. The miracle trees dotted the landscape like freckles, some in clusters and others solitary.

They both sat down and dangled their legs off the sheer side of the hill.

"This is a nice view." Gohan said.

"Yeah, I come up here when I start feeling sad."

"Sad?"

"Being here gets to me sometimes, and makes me depressed. But this view reminds me that this planet is beautiful in its own way, even though its not my home. It could always be worse." Lauren said, looking out into the distance.

"You've got an excellent outlook on things, Lauren," Gohan said, looking out as well, "I haven't thought of it that way."

"Thank you. But I'm sure you would too if you were here as long as I've been. You're not the kind of person to stay down for long either." She looked at him and smiled.

"Can I ask you a question?" Gohan asked, looking down.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Well do you…think I'm a freak?" He couldn't meet her eyes, afraid of bringing the subject up. He had to get this out, though.

"A freak? What in the world do you mean?" Lauren asked, confusion in her voice.

"You know, I'm not human. After all that stuff I told you and your dad, I'm sure you think I'm some kind of monster."

"Hey, look at me," Lauren said, grabbing Gohan's shoulder and forcing him to meet her eyes, "I don't think that at all. I think you're probably the most amazing person I've ever met. The things you can do are only icing on the cake."

"Do you really think that?" He asked, wondering if she wasn't just trying to make him feel better.

"Yes, I really think that! Now I don't want to hear another word about it." Lauren smiled, and Gohan couldn't help but to return it. It was hard to disagree with her when she used her stern voice.

And then Gohan got an idea. Standing up, he extended his hand down to Lauren. She looked up at him curiously, but took it anyway. He pulled her to her feet, and then drew her closer to him. Wrapping an arm around the small of her back for support, he gently shoved off the hill and up into the air.

At first Lauren tensed up like a board, clinging to Gohan with everything she had. But soon she began to relax again, remembering how it felt to fly earlier.

"Do you still trust me?" Gohan asked her.

"Completely." Lauren said, looking at him.


	7. Chapter 7

In the Wake -- Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ

This purple planet they were on actually did have a nighttime. Gohan had started to wonder if it would ever get dark, but Lauren told him the days here were a few hours longer than on Earth. He was curious to see what everything would look like at night. Would there be any visible stars?

They had flown around the sky for nearly an hour before landing back at camp. Gohan had tried to put Lauren down somewhere else, to avoid her aforementioned awkward encounter with her father. She refused though, telling him she wasn't worried about it anymore.

Gohan didn't quite know what to make of that, but he complied anyway, as he certainly didn't mind. He was still riding a sort of high as they landed. If his notion was correct, and Lauren's actions weren't entirely misleading, she was thinking and feeling about him much the same as he was about her.

"Gohan, you can have my hammock if you want." Lauren said drowsily as they landed. It was starting to get dark, and everyone was feeling the effects of the long day. She had told him earlier that it was rather easy to know when to sleep, because you were generally about to pass out anyway as soon as it got dark.

"Thank you," He said gently, leading her into the hut, "But you can keep yours. I'll make my own over there."

"You sure?" She asked, climbing into the hanging vines.

"I'm sure. Now get some rest." Gohan watched as she curled herself up in her hammock. He wondered if she used anything to cover with. The days were fairly hot, but how cold would it get at night? He figured it wouldn't be too bad, as they would have figured out a way to cover themselves by now otherwise.

"Gohan," Lauren said, her head rested on her arms, "I'm really glad you're here."

"Me too."

***

The Prince of all Saiyans flew into the sunset. At least, it was nearest approximation without being able to see the actual star. He was in a bad mood to say the least, for he had completed his planet-wide search without success.

He was baffled beyond belief at the lack of diversity here. There was nothing on the entire planet but the grass and trees. There wasn't even any ice in the polar extremities, or deserts near the equator. On top of this, there was no animal life, either. He hadn't seen the first bird or beast yet.

'What are we going to do now?' He wondered as he flew. He was heading for Gohan's energy signature, hoping he had at least found something to eat.

Hope was a luxury Vegeta was sure they didn't have anymore. As he flew, he wondered idly how he could manage to die honorably here. Perhaps he could provoke Gohan into fighting him. That way if he were to be killed, he would have a good death. And if he were to somehow win, he could die knowing he had killed the strongest person in the universe first. This seemed to be a good idea for now.

So he flew on into the growing darkness, a similar blackness spreading throughout his own soul.

***

It did get colder at night. Gohan was amazed at how Lauren and Stephen had managed to sleep without any covering for six months of this. The temperature had to be at least fifteen degrees lower than during the day, not to mention the humidity in the air giving it an added bite.

He had built himself a hammock like Laurens, using hers as a reference. The only available space in the hut was in her 'room', next to her hammock. He didn't mind the arrangements, but was worried what Stephen might think of him for piling in next to his daughter.

Either way, he was tired and didn't feel like moving the hammock outside. Before he went to bed though, he threw some more vines on the fire and stoked it. The vines were edible if cooked, but otherwise made a somewhat decent fire wood. The large, green branches that jutted out from the center of the trees weren't flammable. Their 'bark' was a hard, scaly affair that wouldn't catch fire at all.

But the fire was a puny thing, even when stoked. The vines burned and gave off some light and heat, but the wood of Earth was probably twice as effective for generating warmth. They would have to build a fire large enough to burn the hut down if they wanted to keep warm.

Gohan curled up in his vine hammock and rested his head on his arms. He looked over at Lauren, who was sleeping in a similar position, facing him. He noticed how peaceful she looked there, floating about in her dreams.

That protective feeling surfaced again, making him angry at the injustice of her plight. He wanted to make it right for them so badly, but he was helpless. It was an unusual feeling, not being able to do anything. He was used to fighting an enemy that could be beaten with strength and skill, but this was all different. His strength counted for nothing, now.

As he looked at Lauren, he saw her shiver. Her face contorted a bit in her sleep, reflecting her outward discomfort with the cold. Gohan was wide awake now. He couldn't stand to see her lying there, cold. He knew he should try to sleep, but he couldn't make himself just roll over and ignore her.

Focusing his energy, he tried to concentrate it into heat. It was a delicate balance, light and heat. He didn't want any light, but at the same time didn't want to shoot a blast off and kill everyone. Finally, he figured out what he needed to do, and radiated the heat waves towards Lauren.

It was a little taxing to exert that kind of control, but it was all worth it when he saw her relax and return to a peaceful sleep.

***

Vegeta arrived in the middle of the night. Gohan had finally fallen out, having figured out how to leave his heater on and sleep. The Saiyan Prince landed in the little clearing that housed Stephen's hut. He was in shock.

Were these the indigenous people? How was Gohan able to find them when he could not? Or had Gohan done all this? Vegeta stood and looked around for long moments, taking it all in. He saw the red-vine hut, the fire in the doorway, the assortment of devices and items from the ruins scattered about.

Vegeta hadn't found the ruins yet, as it was the only place on the planet he hadn't managed to get to. Gohan's energy had been between him and the final few dozen miles he hadn't scoped, so he figured he would stop by and find out what Gohan knew before looking over that last little piece.

Apparently Gohan had had more luck than he. Vegeta was preparing to investigate a table that held an interesting looking assortment of things, when a man stepped through the doorway of the hut.

"Hello, Vegeta. How did your search go?" The man said casually.

Vegeta spun around and faced the man, astounded that he should hear that language, or his own name.

"You're…human?" Vegeta stammered, confused beyond belief.

"I'm as human as you are Saiyan." The man said with a smile.

Vegeta was still at a loss, but forced himself to regain his composure, "You had better start explaining how you know about me and what you're doing here, now."

"Well that's easy enough," The man said, "Gohan told me about you."

"Yes, I sensed Gohan here. But I did not expect to find other humans. How did you get here?" Even Vegeta was starting to feel a tinge of hope, though he vehemently made himself disregard it. His mind couldn't help but to draw conclusions as to the reason behind humans being here. If they could get here, they could leave, and perhaps take them as well.

"Well that is a bit of a long story. Gohan said earlier that you would probably be hungry. Would you like to eat, while I tell it?" The man motioned with his hand for Vegeta to follow.

"You have food?" Vegeta asked, remembering his gnawing hunger.

"Well it serves the purpose. It's not too bad, really," The man stopped in front of one of the odd trees and grabbed one of the red vines, "These are edible when cooked. I'm sure you have abilities similar to Gohan's so you can use your energy to cook them, right?"

Vegeta said nothing, but reached out and popped one of the vines off of the tree. All this time he had flown over these ridiculous things, starving. He flared up his energy a bit and began to sear the vine. When it was warm and darkened, he brought it up and bit into it.

His eyes widened in surprise. It was good! It had an almost meaty quality, like beef or deer. Giving the man a nod, Vegeta proceeded to start cutting himself a meal. As he went about doing this, the man told his story. His name was Stephen, Vegeta learned.

He told him of his incident with the Shift Reactor, and how they got here, of hearing his and Gohan's voices and sending Lauren to investigate, and of meeting Gohan and everything that transpired then.

Vegeta was astounded that Stephen was building another Shift Reactor. He wasn't so easily placated as Gohan, and knew the ungodly amount of technology needed to make such a thing work. He was no scientist, but he was smart enough to know that doing such a thing was a vast undertaking. One might as well build a computer with wooden pegs and paper gears.

Stephen only shrugged when he expressed as much, "It will be difficult. But I have built one before, so I know what I need. I know what will and will not work, and what I can and can't get away with."

The two of them sat at the meal table, a small fire burning beside them to illuminate their conversation.

"And we all need hope," Stephen continued, "The young ones especially. Lauren is very gifted for her age, and has already gone through more than many adults could handle. And I can tell Gohan is a special young man as well. But they are still young, and full of life. They need something to keep their spirits up."

"We could all benefit from some hope, as you said," Vegeta agreed, "But I'm still not sure that you can build this thing here."

"Neither am I." Stephen said, "But like I said, I've got to try. As far as I can tell, it's our only chance. I'm sure even you, with all your power, can't fly us all the way to Earth."

Vegeta bit his lip. He knew the man was right, but somehow an insult like that just burned him. He had been battling all day with those very thoughts. A Super Saiyan, doomed to die in a most unremarkable way, stranded on an alien planet.

"You should try to sleep," Stephen said, yawning himself, "You can have my hammock if you'd like, or build your own."

"I appreciate the offer, but I will make due myself. You may return to your bed." Vegeta stood and walked into the trees, as Stephen returned to his bed.

***

Morning dawned cold and bright. The nights were considerably shorter than the days here, so everyone slept a while past first light. Stephen woke first, and made his usual rounds. He cooked his vines for breakfast, and went to the stream to bathe. After finishing up, he returned to the hut to find Gohan awake, and eating outside.

"Good morning, son!" He called to Gohan.

"Good morning." Gohan said, "Would you like some breakfast?"

"No thank you, I've already eaten. Has Vegeta gotten up yet?"

"Vegeta? You mean he's here?" Gohan looked around in amazement.

"Yes, he arrived during the night. I woke when I heard him outside, and greeted him. I've told him our story and everything, so he's caught up with events." Stephen took a seat next to Gohan, "He's a proud fellow, isn't he."

"That doesn't even break the surface sometimes," Gohan said with a laugh, "But he was the Prince of the Saiyan race, so I guess he's still kind of hung up on the whole 'royalty' thing."

"The Prince? You don't say! How interesting." Stephen stared off into the trees, his gears no doubt turning.

Gohan continued to eat, wondering what the new day might bring, and what he could do. He wanted to make sure he was productive, and helpful in fighting the good fight, so to speak. But he knew nothing about building high-tech electronics, or the parts needed. If he tried to go with Stephen, he'd likely just end up in the way. Unless…

"Stephen?" Gohan asked, breaking the man from his thoughts, "I've been thinking about how I might be able to help you out. I don't know anything about the device, but maybe I can put my back to work? Are there any large boulders, or anything in your way at those ruins?"

"Hmm, I think I see what you're saying. As a matter of fact, there are a few areas I have not been able to access, due to cave-ins and the like. If you want, you can see what you can do with some of those."

"Sure, I should be able to clear that stuff out for you." Gohan said, excited that he had something meaningful to do.

"I believe I will accompany you two as well." Vegeta walked out from the trees, and took a seat near the edge of the clearing.

"Hey, Vegeta," Gohan said, "How did your search go yesterday?"

"It didn't, Gohan. There's nothing on this wretched planet but grass and trees. It's the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen, and I've been to countless planets across our galaxy." Seeing Gohan eating, Vegeta realized he was hungry as well. So he stood up and proceeded to gather his own breakfast.

"It is a riddle," Stephen said absently, kicking around a cup on the ground, "Like I was telling Gohan, I'm pretty sure some sort of natural disaster must have blasted this place a long time ago. The trees and this grass must be the first to recover from the devastation."

"So do you believe this disaster put an end to the civilization here? Apparently there's only ever been one. The rest of the planet is barren." Vegeta sat his vines and water cup on the ground in front of his stool.

"It may have," Stephen said, thinking, "But those ruins are quite ancient. If it was a storm that killed them, then it happened very long ago. I'm sure in all those years, other plant life would have had a chance to surface."

Gohan listened to their conversation, that weird feeling gnawing at him. Every time he thought of the lack of flora here, he started to get edgy. There was something bad wrong with it, but he couldn't figure it out. He only hoped he'd be able to before something bad happened, whatever it may be.

Lauren came outside then, having been awakened by their talk.

"Good morning sleepy head," Her father said to her, giving his daughter a smile.

"Good morning." Lauren said to everyone groggily. She dragged up a stool and plopped down next to Gohan, still half-asleep. Gohan looked at her with an amused expression.

"That's my daughter, alright." Stephen said with a laugh, "Takes her an hour to wake up, even after she gets out of bed!"

"Shut up, dad!" Lauren said playfully, swatting her hand at him, "I just slept really good last night, and didn't want to get up." She smiled at Gohan, making him wonder if she knew that he had been the heater.

"Whatever you say, dear." Stephen said with a smile.

Lauren noticed Vegeta sitting over near the edge of the clearing, and nudged Gohan.

"Is that your friend," She whispered.

"Yeah, that's Vegeta," Gohan said, "He tends to keep to himself like that, but he's not a bad guy."

Once everyone had eaten, bathed, and gotten ready, they set out for the ruins. Lauren had decided to accompany them, since everyone was going. She had been a few times before, so it was nothing new to her.

Gohan was excited, having never seen anything like this on Earth, much less on an alien planet. He also had a job assigned to him, and that was making him feel better as well. Vegeta of course said nothing as he walked in the rear of the line, arms crossed.

It was obvious he didn't care to be caught up with and dependant upon these people, but he knew he didn't have a choice. Besides, the scientist seemed to know who he was and had treated him with the proper respect.

In a while they arrived, cresting a final hill to see the ruins in a low valley a few hundred feet away. They looked very much like one would expect a city to look after hundreds of years of neglect and abandonment.

Buildings were crumbled, roadways overgrown with grass, rubble everywhere. The city itself had probably been a few square miles in circumference by the looks of it, but now it was just a mess. Some of the buildings were mostly intact, and there were a few other things about that hadn't completely fallen away into decay.

The most remarkable thing about the place though, was how similar it all looked to an Earth city. Despite the obvious differences in materials, the layout of the buildings, and roadways seemed pretty much the same. Gohan even thought he saw a ruined hunk of junk that may have once been a vehicle.

It was sort of creepy to see this somewhat familiar-looking city lying in ruin on this alien planet. But they couldn't stand around and stare all day, for they had work to do. Somewhere in this demolished wasteland rested their hopes for going home.

***

Author's Note: Sorry for the long(ish) update time. Anyway, I know this chapter was kind of slow, but don't worry. There will be plenty of action soon, I promise. To everyone who is worried about where this is going, or how it's going…don't give up on me! I'm not so lame as to fall into the conventions of amateurs (now I'm sounding like Hercule)! But as always, thank you for reading and reviewing, and please continue to do so. I do love reading reviews, good or bad, as they help keep me in line. Have a great day, everyone!


	8. Chapter 8

In the Wake -- Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ.

(Back on Earth)

The battle with the android was heating up. Piccollo had sensed its presence shortly after Gohan and Vegeta, and was on his way to find out what it was when the android had sent the Saiyans away. Once their energy signatures had disappeared, he really started to worry.

He arrived to find the android attacking West City. Piccollo didn't know it was an android, but knew it was strong and malicious. When he intercepted the thing, it told him its story. Apparently it was rather proud (for an android), of what it had done to the Saiyans, and didn't mind relating the story to Piccollo.

The fight between the two was close. Piccollo's fused state with Kami gave him an unprecedented power boost, but the android was just as strong or stronger than 17 had been by Piccollo's judgment. They battled throughout West City, laying waste to vast portions of it. Piccollo was on his guard constantly of the Shift Reactor that had sent Gohan and Vegeta away, but the android never used it.

He guessed it took an extraordinary amount of energy to use the device, and that the android was drained after such exertion. Nevertheless, it was still pushing him to his breaking point with the fight.

After a while, Krillin and Yamucha arrived. They had sensed the fight, and came to investigate. They didn't know that the bad guy was an android, and Piccollo didn't have time to fill them in. So they stood on the sidelines, clueless.

But something unexpected happened. Piccollo had been hit by a strong blast and sent hurtling into a building. The android floated in the sky, assimilating data on the present situation. Its programming had been designed around fighting, at which it was very good. But the rest of its processing power was significantly weaker. When fighting such a drawn-out battle, its other functions became overloaded, requiring a few moments to catch up.

During this waiting period, a blast struck the android out of nowhere, sending it crashing to the ground in a blaze. Krillin and Yamucha were at a loss, for they knew Piccollo hadn't gotten up yet, and there was no one else around that could have done that.

But then they saw Android 18 hovering in the sky, next to where the other android had been. Krillin's heart skipped a beat when he saw her, as he thought he would never see her again after the last time on the Lookout. He started to fly over to her, but she rocketed down towards the ground before he could manage to do so.

She lit into the android, taking over where Piccollo had left off. Krillin wondered how she knew what was going on here, since he was pretty sure she didn't have the ability to sense power levels. He realized then that she must have been in West City or close by anyway.

Piccollo made his way out of the rubble he had been knocked into, and joined the other two in watching the fight. He was a bit peeved that 18 had taken his place, but couldn't deny he needed the rest. While she fought, he filled Krillin and Yamucha in on the particulars of this new foe.

"You mean it sent Gohan and Vegeta across the universe?!" Krillin asked, terrified at this news.

"Yes." Piccollo said, teeth clenched with anger.

"That's terrible," Yamucha cried, "What will we do without them? Goku is dead, and if they're gone, then that means that we're all that's left to defend the Earth!"

"Well, at least it looks like 18 is on our side now." Krillin said, watching as she battled the android.

"Yeah, for now," Yamucha said, "But what if she beats it and decides to come after us? With Gohan and Vegeta gone, she's back up there on top of the food chain, if you know what I mean."

"Stop being ridiculous." Piccollo growled, "She's no threat anymore."

"That's right." Krillin said.

"Maybe, but what are we going to do about Gohan and Vegeta? We can't just forget about them." Yamucha said.

"I'm afraid there's nothing we can do," Piccollo said, looking down, "They're on their own now."

***

'Man, this place gives me the creeps,' Lauren thought to herself as she rummaged around the ruined city, 'And Gohan wanted to know why we didn't just live here? Give me a break, there's no way.'

She had wandered away from her father and Gohan, as they were busy lifting pillars and hurtling boulders our of the way. It was amazing the kind of strength Gohan had, she had to admit. But even something that extraordinary got boring when all they were doing was moving rubble.

Besides, there was a chance she could make a discovery that would be critical to the reactor. Lately she was starting to feel smaller and smaller. Her father was the genius who was building the Shift Reactor, and Gohan and his friend could do all sorts of amazing things, but what about her? She knew that if she were to fall off the face of the planet, they could still get along fine without her.

Sure, her father loved her. And she thought Gohan might like her. But he was probably just being nice, because he felt sorry for her. That enraged her more than anything. She absolutely did not want anyone pitying her or feeling sorry for her. A prime example would be last night. Granted she was freezing, and the extra heat felt wonderful, but she didn't need his sympathy. She had gotten along for months now without it.

But she just couldn't make herself tell him how she was feeling. She had thought about talking to her father, but he would never understand. Sure he was a genius, but he was dense as a brick when it came to issues such as emotional distresses.

She really liked Gohan, and didn't want him to think she was ungrateful of what he had done for her or how he was. She had decided three times since she had known him to tell him off about being too nice and gentle with her, but every time she looked at him she started to melt. It was so infuriating, feeling so helpless.

'But he probably doesn't like me,' She thought, 'He's probably just being nice until he can find a way out of here. After all, with all the amazing things he can do, what would he see in someone like me?'

It was such a depressing thought, and confusing. If he didn't like her, then he was a really good actor. But he could have just said and done all those things out of sympathy. That wonderful flight they took yesterday evening could have just been his way of showing pity.

She decided she would show her worth, one way or another. No more being the useless little girl in the back. She'd find something here that would prove to them that she was a valuable member of the team.

Jaw set with determination, Lauren set off deeper into the ruined city to find herself.

***

Vegeta had gone his own way as well. Not being one for a team dig, the Saiyan Prince was occupying himself in the back half of the ruins. There wasn't much to see, only destroyed buildings and houses. But he needed space to think about this place.

He had realized early on that the scientist wasn't playing with a full deck. Sure he was a genius, but Vegeta had been living around geniuses for a few years now, and knew their mannerisms. Apart from the problem at hand, they tend to be quite brain-dead.

Stephen was so rapt in his reactor that he hadn't put much thought into anything else around here. He could make small talk about various subjects, but put real effort into none. So the issue of this planet's geography and of these ruins wasn't exactly of paramount importance to the man.

Nevertheless, they needed to be addressed. Vegeta walked among the rubble, trying to sort it all out. These ruins were obviously hundreds of years old. It had been a fairly advanced civilization at its ending, perhaps a few decades behind Earth's current level.

And civilizations like these don't just die. The city could have been destroyed in a war, but there were no others on the whole planet with whom they could have fought. Or perhaps the natural disaster that the scientist seemed to favor could have killed everyone.

That still didn't answer the question of the economy of a city this advanced. If it were a primitive place, it would be acceptable for it to be all alone in the middle of the world. But civilizations like these require massive amounts of goods. Where did they get the building materials, the food, the fuel, textiles, metals, and so on? It was just so wrong, on so many levels.

Then there was the issue of the plants. A storm could have killed off all vegetation recently, leaving the most resilient to come back. That made sense enough for this backwards place. But that still left the question of what killed this city unanswered.

A chill ran down Vegeta's spine as he considered the possibility of a storm having done that as well. What if this place was frequented by planet wide storms of an annihilating nature? It was a very real possibility, and a terrifying one to say the least.

If that was the case, and they were stranded here with nowhere to hide, then that would mean certain death. The Saiyans might weather the storm itself, but if it destroyed all the plant life, they would then be out of food. Back to the starvation scenario.

Vegeta hoped his imagination was just running wild, and tried to shake the thoughts from his head. He still couldn't shake the fear of it though. It was the unknown variable that made it so frightening. Even if it was a certainty that storms ravaged the planet, they still didn't know when.

If they had an idea as to the amount of time in between, and how long it had been since the last, then it might make it better. Or it might not. What if they found out, and the storm was right around the corner?

***

"Gohan, could you toss this?" Stephen asked, pointing to a large wad of crumpled metal that was blocking a doorway.

"Sure." Gohan walked over and grabbed the thing.

"Judging by what I've found in this building, I believe this may have been some sort of lab. Or it may have been a supply store for parts."

Gohan heaved the heavy metal bundle out of the way, revealing the doorway. They were in the shell of a toppled building. The roof and higher levels were gone, leaving only the walls, spanning the height of about two stories.

As they made their way inside the newly opened doorway, Stephen set to work looking for useful things. This had been the tune all day so far. Gohan would clear a path into a new area, and Stephen would set to work. This made things rather boring for Gohan, since he couldn't be active constantly, nor could he wander off on his own.

He wished Lauren would have stayed so he would have someone to talk to. But he didn't blame her for leaving. He knew it was boring, just sitting around.

Still, he couldn't help worrying about her out there. He knew there was nobody around, but this city gave him the chills. There was something eerie about it all, but as usual, he didn't know what. All he knew was that there was something out of place.

"Well look at that!" Stephen exclaimed, breaking Gohan's thoughts, "This will come in handy."

He emerged from a cabinet victoriously, brandishing some sort of widget.

***

Lauren dug her way through an old building, sifting through the junk. She didn't know what she should be looking for exactly, but figured anything useful would be a good start. So far she had found mostly garbage.

She had rummaged four buildings already, searching high and low for things. There had been an abundance of old broken plates and tin cans and otherwise useless stuff, but not much else. Still, she was being productive and killing time.

The place she was in now probably used to be massive. Its upper levels had long since fallen, but the bottom floor that was left was huge. She had gone through most of it already though, to no avail. But while searching the final area, a bookshelf along the back wall, she made a discovery.

There was one panel of the shelf, along the back, that had been busted, and was dangling. Behind it was what appeared to be a small metal door, set into the wall. She opened it tentatively, feeling apprehensive for some reason.

Behind the little door was a simple black switch. She knew it was silly, but her mind started racing as to what the switch could activate. But she knew it was childish, as there surely hadn't been any sort of electrical power here for ages.

Nevertheless, she flipped it. It startled her so bad she nearly screamed when she heard a low, scraping noise behind her. Turning around to see what was going on, she saw a portion of the floor sliding away into the wall. She walked over to the hole it had revealed, to find a small staircase leading down.

This was incredible! How could something like that work after all those years? But what was most intriguing was where the stairway might lead. Her mind filled with ideas of secret bunkers or laboratories. Whatever it was, it was surely more interesting than anything else around here.

She started to run out and find Gohan and her father, but stopped. Sure, this was a find, but what if the staircase just led to an empty room? Then they'd just be mad at her for interrupting their work. She could just see it now, them chiding her about being a good girl and not bothering them while they're working.

No, she'd make the discovery herself and rub it in later. Turning around, she headed back to the staircase and started down.

***

Author's Note: What have we here? More mystery? You won't want to miss a single second of the next exciting installment of Dragon Ball Z!! (Always wanted to say that). As always, thank you all for the R&R, and please continue to do so! Have a wonderful day!


	9. Chapter 9

In the Wake -- Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ.

Lauren followed the staircase as it descended into the ground. It was a long way, she noted, having already gone down a few dozen feet. It was noticeably cooler down here, and dark. The only light was cast from the portal in the floor above, and she was so far down now that it wasn't of much help.

Finally she got to the bottom. The stairs leveled off to flat ground, where a door was set into the wall. There was no telling how long it had been since anyone had been down here, she thought. And beyond this door might be something that could spell success for her father's build, and their hopes for leaving.

The door was oddly similar to most doors on Earth, she noted. Perhaps the people here had been very similar to humans. This would explain the shapes of things like doors and cups. They certainly weren't too alien, or they might have gathered their nutrients though tentacles or something!

The door was metal, having the same green tint as all the other metals on the planet they had seen. A handle was set into the side, which when turned, opened it up. Lauren did just that, pushing the door to the side and looking into the room beyond.

Strangely, she saw light. It was a tunnel, walled by what appeared to be concrete. The floor was laid with pale blue tiles, and along the ceiling ran lights. The lights emitted a sharp, white light, that threw everything into harsh contrast.

The tunnel ran straight as far as she could see. What in the world could have been down here? Was this really a bunker or something? A creepy feeling was starting to grab at her, but she retained her resolve to figure this out on her own. She still didn't know if there was even anything in the tunnel at all.

So she took it step by step, keeping an eye out for anything that could merit a look. It was several hundred feet before she saw anything other than walls and floor. A door there was, set into the right wall. It looked the same as the one that entered into this place. This was worth a look, she figured, so she tugged on the handle and opened it.

It was a room of average size, lit like the rest of the tunnel. It had the same concrete walls and tiled floor. What was astounding was the occupants. The entire back wall was lined with computers and monitors of all shapes and sizes.

Large display screens glowed with green light, while towers of computers flashed colors and hummed with life. It all worked! There were three chairs positioned at various points near the computers, and a table to the side, filled with papers and books. It looked so much like something from Earth.

And to make it more weird, it looked as if there were people here operating these things recently. They could have simply stepped out to grab lunch for all she could tell. That creepy feeling came back, stronger than ever. Okay, she had made a discovery, now it was time to get out.

Turning her back on the strange room, she bolted down the tunnel the way she had come. This was all so wrong, she kept thinking. She felt as if there was another presence here, that was watching her. How did all this stuff have power? There was no way it could have been just sitting there for hundreds of years, still running.

Was the tunnel this long the first time? She seemed to be running forever, not making any progress. But soon the door at the far end was clearly in sight. She was going to make it. Then it shut. She skidded to a halt, not believing her eyes. The door had just slammed shut, seemingly on its own.

Truly afraid now, she didn't know where to go. Doors don't just shut inside windless tunnels, so someone had to shut it. But everything inside her was screaming for her to get out, quickly. Deciding she'd chance it with the door, she continued to run towards it. She reached it and tugged. It was locked.

Panic started to set it, cold and ruthless. She just knew something was behind her, but was afraid to look. The door wouldn't give, no matter how much she tugged or beat. Tears started to flow down her cheeks, the fear and frustration of it all getting to her.

But it was better to know for sure, whatever may happen. So steeling herself, she turned around and looked down the hall. Something was there. Fifty feet down the hall stood a figure, robed in black. Lauren's breath caught in her throat at the sight of this thing. But before she could do anything, it started coming for her.

***

Stephen and Gohan continued their work. They were in a different room now, previously inaccessible, Stephen plundering through the rubble. Gohan sat and watched him from a table in the corner, feeling increasingly bored and put out with the lack of work for him.

He wondered why he couldn't just go around opening doorways all day. That way he could do his job, and Stephen would have access to all the places he might want to search. In the time it had taken them already, Gohan figured he could have cleared the debris from at least half of the doorways in the city.

Stephen had found a handful of useful items so far. Gohan didn't really know what they were or did, although Stephen had described them to him. Stephen was the kind of person who loved to talk about what he knew of, and loved to ask about what he didn't. He had randomly prodded Gohan all day about his Saiyan heritage, and Gohan had told him what he knew. He was starting to see however, why Lauren tended to avoid any lengthy conversations with her father about certain things.

His mind was snapped back to reality though, when he heard a faint scream. Jumping from his seat, Gohan stared into the distance, focusing all his attention on what he thought he had heard. His heart was in his throat, fearing the worst. Stephen hadn't heard a thing, but seeing Gohan jump to, he stood and stared at him in wonder.

Then he heard it again. This time there was no mistaking it. It was faint and far away, but he knew it was a girl's scream. And the only girl around was Lauren. In a sudden blaze of fear and anger, Gohan blasted from the room, into the sky. Focusing all his might on sensing her life force, he scoured the ruined city.

He found her. It was a faint level, even for a human, which scared him. Like a bullet he was off, flying down to a building a few hundred feet away. He stopped inside, quickly scanning the area. He was doubly worried now, for he was sensing another power level with Lauren. This new one wasn't terribly strong, but something about it was extremely dark.

Seeing a stairway in the floor, Gohan shot down it, starting to understand what might have happened. It ended at a door, which he shattered on his way down. A long tunnel greeted him unexpectedly, long and well lit. He flew down it, feeling he was getting closer by the second.

Soon he passed a door, which he busted in and looked inside. Computers and monitors lined the walls, which amazed him, but otherwise it was empty. His curiosity was burning, but he had no time to investigate, for Lauren was not in here, and she was his main objective. So he flew on down the hall, feeling increasingly enraged at this unknown threat that had appeared.

He wondered briefly what an underground facility this massive was doing down here. But more puzzling was how he had sensed Lauren's energy from the entrance to the tunnel, and not farther down, as she obviously was. He realized there must be some sort of energy shield spanning underground area, effectively blocking energy. So the only place he could detect her was from the entrance to the place, which must be unshielded.

This raised the question of who or what was shielding this place, not to mention what the place even was. Gohan's uneasy feelings were amplified as he thought of all this. It was so strange. But he would have to ask questions later, for the most pressing issue at had was finding Lauren. At least her life force was strong down here.

The tunnel changed. At one point, several different tunnels intersected into the main one. Gohan stopped and looked down each, seeing the same featureless path whichever way he looked. Each spanned as far as the eye could see. But he could sense her life force down the one to the immediate left, so he shot off that way.

***

'What is happening?' Vegeta thought to himself, feeling the transpiring events. He had heard the girl's scream, and felt Gohan's subsequent power increase and chase. He was sensing him now, but it seemed his power was dwindling, as if he were getting farther and farther away. It felt very strange.

But what was wrong with the girl? And should he let Gohan go off alone? Vegeta was far from worried about Gohan's ability to survive, but still hated being out of the loop on such things. He had never been one anyone would call nosy, but on this supposedly deserted alien planet, such an odd occurrence might just merit his attention.

***

Lauren was tied to a pillar. The black robed creature that had trapped her stood across the room with two more of its similarly-dressed fellows. She could still feel the coldness of its touch as it had grabbed her by the arm and shot off down the tunnels with her. It was colder than anything she had ever felt. Her skin shivering with repulsion and fear, she tried to figure a way out of this mess.

Was there any hope Gohan had heard her scream? It hadn't been too hard for her to muster the lung power to launch that vocal blast but she didn't know if it would be enough.

Her hands and feet were firmly bound with cord to the stone pillar behind her. A gag had been tied over her mouth, putting an end to any future yelling. But she couldn't just stand there and let them do whatever they were planning to her.

She had given up trying to reason out what the black things were or what they were doing on the planet. Having seen Gohan do what he could do, the obvious strength and general strangeness of these things wasn't that extraordinary. It was their evil, icy aura that terrified her. The same feeling she had felt when she had discovered the computer room in the first tunnel, the one of hopeless fear and imminent danger, this was what the creatures exuded constantly. Her proximity to them now made it that much worse.

If only Gohan could show up and teach these things a lesson. No, she couldn't indulge in pointless hope, it was probably going to be up to her to get out of this mess. Her father was probably filling Gohan's ears with so much chatter he wouldn't have been able to hear her scream if she had been standing ten feet away.

Daring a fearful glance at the three black figures, she tried to see where their attention was focused. She knew they weren't looking at her, for their robed heads were turned, but beyond that she had no idea what they were up to. The things seemed to be humanoid, save for their towering height. But could they hear her if she made a noise? Or could they even 'see' her?

She tested her bonds. They were so tight she couldn't move, so wiggling free didn't seem to be an option. There was a piece of bent metal on the ground a few feet away from her. If she could reach it, she might be able to cut the ropes.

The cords holding her feet were tied around her ankles, effectively putting a stop to her feet reaching out to grab them. But she had to try. So she started to pull her legs up and down, hopefully loosening the ropes, or at least working her feet into a position where they might be able to slip out.

It seemed futile. The ropes were so tight her feet were hardly moving, especially not enough to pull one out. But her efforts were stopped, as one of the black creatures saw her escape attempt. With a freaky fluidity it glided across the floor to where she was.

"Stop moving, child." It said in a high, raspy voice. Lauren was shocked to hear it speak her language. How was it possible? The creature lifted its robed hand in front of her and used its energy to blast her flat against the pillar. Lauren's breath was knocked out of her from the blow, and her head hit the concrete with a nasty impact.

Dazed and disheartened, Lauren despaired of ever making it out of here alive.

***

Their energy was close. Gohan was rocketing down the corridors, focusing all his might on finding Lauren. There were three of the new people with her now, their energy feeling ever darker the closer he got. How was this place so big down here? It must span miles and miles, he realized.

Finally, he came to another door. Everything down here looked so similar, if he hadn't been able to sense their power, he might never find them. But he knew they were beyond this final door. He landed just in front of it, and took a breath. Reaching out, he grabbed the handle and ripped the door from its hinges, flinging it into the wall behind him.

The first sight to greet him was the three black creatures. Their soulless appearance and chilling energy startled him. This was the last thing he would have expected to find. The three of them turned to face him, and Gohan could feel a dark terror grasping at his heart.

But he saw Lauren behind them, and the sight of her tied to the pillar replaced his fear with a burning anger.

"Who are you?" He demanded of the creatures, not expecting an answer.

"We are the Legion of Souls, young one," The foremost figure said in an icy voice. Gohan was startled to hear them speak common. He would have pictured beings like this chanting some magical incantations or guttural curses by the look of them. Nevertheless, this made things a bit easier.

"What are you doing with her?" He looked over at Lauren, enraged at seeing her thus. She looked hurt and afraid, but there was a fierce hope and joy in her eyes now at seeing Gohan.

"The girl was coming dangerously close to finding our sanctum. She had to be taken, to preserve the secrecy. You have found us as well, and will be dealt with the same as her."

"Nobody's getting dealt with here but you. Now you let her go or I'll be forced to kill you." Gohan was hoping they'd chose the latter option. He had to give them the chance to relent though, for it was the right thing to do, and what his father would have done.

"You are a fool. Have you no idea who we are?" The black creature drew a bit closer to Gohan, who dropped into a fighting stance, ready.

"I don't care who you are. You obviously don't know who I am, or you'd do what I say. Have you ever heard of the Saiyans?" Gohan was sure they hadn't, the planet Vegeta having existed way back in his own galaxy.

"Saiyans. Yes, we harvested our share of those. Fantastic fighting spirit, they had. A pity the planet was destroyed, we would have loved to harvest some more."

Gohan was baffled, "Harvest? What are you talking about?"

"It is obvious you don't know who we are," The black creature said mockingly, "The Legion of Souls is a universal body of brethren. We consume the souls of our prey, feeding and gaining their power and knowledge. Each soul contributes to all, for we are one as we are many."

***

Author's Note: I'm very sorry for the long update, I've had a lot going on lately. But I should be able to return to a normal posting schedule soon, so don't give up on me! Anyway, as usual, feel free to leave your opinion on the story (good or bad), and have a wonderful day!


	10. Chapter 10

In the Wake -- Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ

Gohan was speechless. It was as if the fire that burned inside of him had been compartmentalized in light of this new revelation. If this creature was telling the truth, then there was a universal race of soul-eaters loose out there. What worried him most though, was its comment about the power of the souls being distributed through the body of the Legion.

"I can see you are confused, young one." The creature said in its screeching voice, "It is to be expected. Our might and presence is often too much for some to bear."

"I'm not afraid of you!" Gohan declared, his teeth clenching with apprehension.

"Defiance is a precursor and blanket of denial, which is disguised fear. I can see into your soul, Saiyan. You are afraid of us because you cannot comprehend us."

As the foremost creature stopped talking, one more of the three came forward to stand next to it.

"We are the exemplification of power," This one said, its voice deep and massive in comparison to its brother, "Our collective might spans the universe. The knowledge, strength, and skills of countless millions is at our disposal."

Gohan felt the cold fear gnawing at his insides. They were right, he just knew it. The very presence of these creatures screamed power, which was an unusual feeling for him.

He was a Super Saiyan, ascended to an unprecedented level! How could he be afraid of these things? What was it about them that made his stomach watery?

He shut his eyes and focused. It didn't matter, he told himself. He had to get Lauren out of here, and deal with them later. One thing at a time, one step at a time.

Opening his eyes, he looked over to where Lauren was tied. She was worried and scared, obviously seeing the same fear and doubt Gohan felt within himself. He wouldn't let her down though, no matter what. He had spent too much time letting people down in the past, even his father. That had to stop.

Hoping he would catch the creatures off guard, Gohan shot across the room to where Lauren was tied. As fast as he could manage, he cut her bonds and snatched her up in his arms. Not stopping to see what the brothers were doing, he blasted off down the tunnel, the way he had come.

Once he had gotten a few dozen feet away, he dared a look back. The three stood in the hall, looking after them. A chill ran through him at the sight of them, tall and uniform. They were a wall of darkness, a consuming whole that seemed to suck the very life out of the air.

***

Lauren clung to him with all her might. She didn't know what to do or think, so great was her relief and joy. Her prayers had been answered, and Gohan was carrying her away. She knew inside that this was far from over, as the creatures would surely give chase. But she felt confident that Gohan could handle them.

She wanted to cry, her fear and relief mixing into a bundle of emotion that seemed destined to burst. But she held back, making herself stay strong through this. She was the only girl here, the only expendable member of their team. She had already made a mess of herself by being captured and endangering everyone. The least she could do was not blubber like a child.

She looked at Gohan's face, trying to find the words to express her gratitude. Somehow, 'thank you' seemed rather weak at this point. He looked down at her and smiled, the relief on his own face so genuine and warm that she felt herself starting to tear up.

But he looked away, and that look was replaced by one of deep worry and fear. The look mirrored her own inner thoughts, as she knew they would have to confront those things again any second.

They weren't behind them now, though. The hallway was empty as far as she could see. But somehow this emptiness only amplified the horrible tension that was so thick around them now it was almost visible.

They passed the junction of the tunnels, rocketing down the one that led back to the entrance. It all seemed strangely distant now, everything but this. Lauren felt as if her entire life, even on this planet, had taken place years ago. So profound were these new events, that even today's exploration of the ruins seemed a far-off memory.

Her father was still outside, probably still digging around. Would he be safe from these monsters? She was sure Gohan's friend could handle himself, but she worried for her father. Knowing him, he'd risk his own life for a chance to study these 'fascinating' things.

And were there more of them? So far, they had only seen three. But there was no knowing how vast the underground network of tunnels spanned, there could be dozens of them down here.

They made it out. Gohan blasted up the staircase and out of the building, into the sky. He floated there for a moment, looking back the way they had come. Lauren figured he was trying to see if they were going to follow.

Obviously he learned what he needed to, for he shot back off across the ruins, towards her father. Landing, Gohan sat her down.

"Gohan, what in the world is going on?" Stephen asked, looking at him and Lauren.

"I'm sorry, but I don't have any time to explain," Gohan said, staring back the way they had come, "Lauren, you can tell him everything. I've got to go meet these things before they find you guys."

"Gohan, be careful!" Lauren shouted after him, as he had taken to the sky. Gohan turned around and smiled his warm, comforting smile. This smile of his always seemed to make her feel better, whatever was going on. But as he turned his head to go, she saw that look dissolve into one of a worried determination.

Then he was gone, blasting off into the sky to battle.

***

Where was Vegeta? Gohan couldn't sense his energy right now, and that had him worried. Had these monsters gotten him already? Were they that strong, to be able to beat a Saiyan of Vegeta's caliber in so short a time?

There was no point in worrying much though, for his own fight was imminent. He had been tracking the Legion's energy as they gave chase down the tunnels. They weren't going very fast, which was puzzling. They had said they wanted their operation underground to remain a secret. So why let them escape so easily? Unless they had decided to simply kill everyone up on the surface.

They were close to the exit now, though. Gohan hovered above the building that housed the entrance to the tunnels, waiting. He steeled himself, trying to remember his training, and what it felt like to stand up to impossible odds…all alone.

He had done it before, when facing Cell. His father had sacrificed himself, leaving him alone to battle the beast. He could remember how it felt, knowing the fate of the Earth rested on his shoulders. Although a much different situation, it all felt the same now. If he failed to stop these new enemies, they would surely kill Lauren and her father.

It wasn't fair for them to have been dealt this lot. They were good people, deserving of a good life. Thrust into this bleak, new place accidentally, then destroyed by some soul-sucking monsters was a cruel injustice for these people. Gohan would prevent this, if he were at all able.

The brothers appeared, eventually. They rose from the ground, uniform and menacing as before. Standing as one, it was easy to see that they were all part and parcel of the same conscience. Gohan swallowed hard, trying to prepare himself in the face of the strange fear they projected.

"I can see you are still afraid," The deep-voiced one said, "I can promise that it will soon be over. Your soul will be a valued addition. And your friends will share your fate."

"You aren't taking anyone's soul today!" Gohan yelled, his anger giving him a welcome respite from the fear. It was still present, gnawing at him, but his loathing of these monsters was quickly growing to eclipse it.

He was tired of beating around the bush with these things. A fight was inevitable, one way or another, so he might as well get the show on the road. Focusing his energy within, he began his transformation.

Mind set on overwhelming and destroying, Gohan bypassed all foreplay, heading straight for Super Saiyan 2. As the energy exploded from within, he felt the liberating power and consciousness fill him. It was hard to doubt himself with this kind of strength. Let these beasts come for him. Let them throw everything they had at him.

"Ah, what power." The icy-voiced one said, its hooded face staring at Gohan.

They didn't seem worried, he noted. Their mistake.

Gohan dropped into stance, readying himself for the attack. It looked as if the three would fight together. It didn't matter, he thought, the more the merrier.

They stood there as if mocking him, still and cold. Tall and solid, they were as imposing as they were featureless. This irritated Gohan more than anything, their silent confidence. How tall would they be after he took their heads off, he wondered.

Shooting at them with lightning speed, he aimed a kick at the right one's neck. But as soon as he was sure it was going to connect, the thing's arm shot up, blocking his foot. They were fast. But Gohan wasn't phased. He shot his left arm out, charging and firing a blast at its face. The blast hit, driving Gohan back with its recoil.

It was a direct hit! He was sure of it. But he had learned his lesson enough in his years of exposure to fighting to not celebrate until the smoke cleared. And when it did clear, he was looking at the same sight as before. The three of them stood still, the recipient of the blast as unharmed as ever.

How was this possible? How could it be so tough as to withstand a blast of that magnitude from point-blank range without even flinching? Were they really that powerful?

His confidence was shaken, but he wasn't out yet. That was a strong blast, but not nearly all he had to offer. Charging his energy, he shot towards them again. This time he let loose a flurry of punches and kicks, aiming at all three. He stood in the middle of them, inside a ring of black.

They never once made an aggressive move, but blocked every one of Gohan's attacks with ease. What's more, they only used their arms.

He was kicking and punching low and high, but to no avail. It was as if he was attacking their arms alone, for as soon as an attack of his was sure to connect, it would hit a block. They remained still, despite his onslaught, blocking seemingly without effort.

It was too much, this overwhelming slap in the face. After everything he had been through, all he had accomplished, it still wasn't enough. Was this how Vegeta always felt, he wondered briefly? To have trained and achieved pinnacle after pinnacle, only to be thwarted so easily…it was so disheartening.

But he was Goku's son. He had to remember that. His father would never give up, no matter what the odds. He remembered back on Namek, his father walking so tall to fight Frieza. He knew full well the chances of his victory, and disregarded them like a bad piece of fruit.

Gohan had to find this strength within himself. It was in his blood, he knew it. He had people to fight for, things to defend. He had his Saiyan pride as well, which was being trampled by these things with every attack they blocked.

With a mighty yell, Gohan blasted his energy; flinging his arms and legs out with the exertion, letting all his power flow through his body and out in a blinding wave of golden power. The brothers were scattered, the energy wave tossing them like leaves in a wind.

Gohan stood in the midst of the blast, yelling out his frustration and anger. These things would mock him no longer. They might have encountered Saiyans in the past, even possess their souls. But they knew nothing of him. He sure would teach them, though.

When the blast faded, Gohan looked around. His aura crackled with power, freshly charged by his rage. The three creatures were staggered around him, having been knocked several feet back by the blast. Their composure was gone for the moment, their frightening countenance temporarily dissolved.

But they righted themselves soon enough, standing tall again. This time, two of the three remained where they were, as one charged towards Gohan. He was ready this time. Especially if they had decided to fight one-on-one. He dropped into stance, preparing himself for the strike. But it never came.

Out of nowhere, a massive beam struck the creature in flight. It caught the thing completely off guard, and as a result of its defenseless state, it was enveloped by the energy. Gohan watched as the beam began to dissolve the monster.

The massive force of the energy relentlessly incinerated the creature. By the time it had dissipated, there was nothing left.

Gohan stared wide eyed at the place where the brother once was. All that was left now were a handful of smoldering cinders, floating around in the air. Amazing. He looked towards the source of the beam, already feeling the relief.

Vegeta hovered in the air, his arms still positioned before him in his signature 'Final Flash' attack. Smoke rose from his hands where the mighty blast had been generated. The Saiyan Prince composed himself, and looked down at Gohan.

"I hope you didn't think you would get to have all the fun alone, boy."

***

Author's Note: Short chapter, I know. I would like to thank everyone again for the reviews. I've gotten over forty as of writing this. I have never had so many reviews on anything I've written, and that makes me very happy. I still welcome anything you want to throw at me. Good or bad, praise or criticism, bring it on! However, I need to address a few things, just to quell a few issues I seem to be seeing. For one, Lauren is NOT going to be a Mary Sue! I have been made aware of the definition of this slang, and can assure everyone now, don't worry! I have a plan for this, know where it's going, all the way to the end, so please don't worry. I value my writing prowess a little more than to fall into that convention so easily. Secondly, this story is going to end up being a bit long for a fanfic. I know some of the earlier chapters are boring with all the dialogue, but it's an essential part of groundwork and foundation and all that. There will be action! There will be adventure! There will be good stuff! …Soon, lol. Finally, I know there a few discrepancies regarding the powers of various characters in previous chapters and mannerisms and whatnot. I'll get to that. The powers thing will need time for explanation, as the storyline progresses. But as far as the mannerisms go, I pride myself in my knowledge of the DBZ universe for the most part, and make sure to stay as true as possible to the character's mindset. They may change a little, being introduced to some given stimulus or influence at the time, but I try very hard to think of what they would do in a given situation. So try to keep an open mind when you read, please. Anyway, I know that was long. It needed to be said though, so thank you for reading this (if you did). And have a wonderful day!


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